The Returning Legend
by ArcticWolf1996
Summary: After the Second Giant War, Percy was finally able to relax. However, when a son of Morpheus enters camp, the campers soon turn on Percy and drive him out of camp. Looking for a new life while coming to terms with his friend's betrayal, he reads about the many worlds outside of Earth and his decision was instantly made. Mainly focuses on his adventures and time in Chaos army
1. Intro

Hey Guys! In the beginning, the chapters are going to be on the shorter side so I will definitely update regularly. Also, I have already written a good bit of this story so I have plenty to publish after I edit them. Feel free to leave any comments. I always enjoy any feedback given (except harsh criticism of course).

There may be a few fighting scenes with graphic scenes for some sensitive readers but nothing gory or anything. There will definitely be new planets and experiences Percy goes through that really show how he can never get a break and everything that never happens to anyone else happens to him. While some of these surprises may be good, there are, of course, the surprises that like to kill him.

I guess I'm done talking for now. We will continue this conversation in the next chapter. Hope you enjoy!

Story Wide Disclaimer: I do not own any Percy Jackson material in this story. I only own the plot and any new characters presented. Now you may go about your business.


	2. Award Ceremony

"Demigods!" Zeus' voice boomed throughout the council room. Sitting on majestic thrones were 12 Olympian figures with Hestia by the hearth and Hades off to the side in the shadows. In front of them stood 8 demigods, (one being forced front in center because he would rather stay in the shadows) tall and proud albeit tired and dirty. Behind them were the two camps, equally as proud and intermixed as one unit forgetting about past hatred.

The war was won. Gaea and all her allies were defeated and sent back to Tartarus, or slumber in Gaea's case. The battle was not easily won and every demigod lost a companion that day. However, demigods knew that their lives were not sacrificed in vain. Because of them, the world was safe and the gods were still on their thrones, able to rule like they always should.

There was silence for a couple of seconds to allow the talking and cheering to cease and for the demigods to relax in the long forgotten silence.

Zeus spoke, "Children of the gods, you have done exceptionally well in this war and all of us give you our thanks." Everyone was struck speechless that the gods were actually ... thanking ... them. They watched as every god nodded their head in agreement each one having a smile on their face. Except Hades but you could tell he was in a good mood and was trying hard not to ruin his 'emotionless' facade.

The Queen of the gods spoke up, "Each one of you have fought bravely to protect our family. You stood together as one, forgoing past disagreements and decimated the enemy. While we did lose many comrades, each can rest in peace knowing we won the war." The demigods did a slight bow of thanks to the queen before looking back at the king who was still smiling an unnatural smile that was usually not found on his face.

"For your bravery and leadership skills, we would like to award all demigods. All damages to both camps will be restored and hopefully one of the seven here would oversee these changes." The seven demigods up front smiled over at Annabeth and laughed at her awestruck face that she would be allowed to redesign both camps, going far and beyond her hopes and dreams. Having the opportunity to redesign Olympus was noteworthy enough, but now she got to leave her mark on both camps too. Let's just say she was left speechless.

After some chuckles from demigods and gods at Annabeth's expression, Zeus continued with his booming voice, "In addition, there will be a gateway built to forever link the two camps so if one shall need the other, they will always have a close ally." Yet again, the demigods were amazed at the generosity of the gods and cheers were heard all around the room.

Many Greek and Roman demigods became fast friends fighting on the battlefield together and they were sad that they lived so far apart. However, this new gateway would allow camps to intermix and become a true family.

Zeus patiently raised his hand waiting for the crowd to quiet down before he continued, "Now, I believe there are some demigods here that have gone far and beyond their requested duties and have trudged through many challenges to help the gods. Come and kneel before us so we may bestow our gifts upon you." The 8 demigods, with one of them getting a little nudge that didn't go unnoticed by some people which in turn made them chuckle and further led to making him turn a little red, walked up to and kneeled before Zeus.

Zeus' form shimmered before turning into Jupiter. "Jason Grace, son of Jupiter, you have shown amazing strength in battle and exceptional leadership skills that led us to where we are today. Our gift to you is partial immortality where you can only die in battle so you may lead Rome to a new golden age. Do you accept?" Jason looked to Piper not willing to leave her but luckily Jupiter interrupted, "All of you are getting immortality so don't worry about leaving each other so none of you better decline." The kingly side of Jupiter came out as everybody looked at the innocent looking Percy and laughed. Emotions were still high and laughter was always welcome.

Jason exclaimed just like his father, "I accept your most gracious offer." And with that, Jason gained a light blue glow. He tensed a little as he felt a part of him burning away but was too excited to truly care. He was now an immortal to lead Rome until a worthy successor succeeds him.

"Piper McLean," Aphrodite spoke up. "For your bravery in the battlefield, while looking exceptionally good at it, we offer you partial immortality. Do you accept?" Piper spared a quick glance at Jason and saw him smiling, most definitely thinking about their immortal lives together.

"I accept," Piper said. And just like before, a faint pink glow sprung up around Piper with a small tension of her shoulders.

"Leo Valdez," Hephaestus proclaimed in his deep burly voice. "For your ingenious designs that helped lead us to victory and your bravery in battle, we offer you partial immortality. Do you accept?" Hephaestus smiled down proud at his son. He was probably one of the proudest gods here because not many of his kids played major roles in wars.

"I accept," Leo said non-crazily much to the surprise of the other demigods. And, again, a faint orange glow surrounded Leo's body around his tense body.

Before the next god spoke up, Hephaestus added, "Maybe some time you could come down to the forge and we can work up something together." Leo stood there breathless at the chance to work with his father and quickly nodded his head up and down getting whiplash somewhere in there.

"Frank Zhang," Mars commanding. "For your skill and bravery in battle, we offer you partial immortality which extends to freeing your life from the wood. Do you accept?" Mars added that last part in a no nonsense tone, daring Frank to not accept which made a couple people chuckle at Frank's face. Not only was he getting immortality, his life would now be free from the wood.

"I graciously accept your offer," and, again, just like all the others, a light red glow surrounded Frank as he tensed from the slight pain.

"Hazel Levesque," Pluto said. "For your bravery in battle, you are allowed to stay in the land of the living and your curse shall be lifted. And, of course, get partial immortality. Do you accept?" Pluto said. Just like Frank, Hazel was left speechless. She would be able to stay alive AND her curse would be lifted.

"I graciously accept your offer," Hazel said breathlessly still trying to recover from the shock. Her tense body gained a faint black glow now matching the set of other slightly glowing people.

Pluto slowly transitioned into Hades before speaking. "Nico di Angelo, for your bravery and skill in battle, we offer you partial immortality and extend this offer to make you the Ghost King to help me in my domain. Do you accept?" Nico, just like some others in the room, was left speechless for half a second but gained his composure much faster than the others.

"I accept and agree to do my best in this position," Nico said, gaining a black aura in his tense frame, slightly darker than the others in the room.

"Annabeth Chase," Athena stoically said. "For your smart thinking, bravery in battle, and retrieving my statue, we offer you partial immortality which you will need to figure out that boy. Do you accept?" Everybody in the throne room quietly chuckled at this while Percy had a look of mock hurt.

"I accept and I will do my best to decipher that boy," Annabeth said still laughing while also getting a faint aura without the usual tenseness. No one commented on it and would most definitely not comment on the next one's either.

"Perseus Jackson," Poseidon said making everybody quiet down to where you could even hear a feather drop. "For your bravery, skill, and leadership, the gods have decided to once again offer you godhood. Do you accept?" It was news to the Romans that Percy was already offered godhood once, and they were shocked that he would have declined. But, now, they were even more shocked when Percy shook his head while the Greek campers saw it coming.

"No thank you father. But I would be happy to accept the partial immortality and would also like to make a request," Percy said unsurprisingly to the gods.

Zeus said, "I guess we saw it coming though we had to make sure. Also, we know you'll make some selfless request so we swear on the Styx to see to it that it happens. Now, what is your wish?" Percy respectively states, "I would like Hades and Hestia to be welcomed back to the Olympian council." Every god was suspecting something to that nature but the two said gods were completely surprised.

One throne grew next to Poseidon and the others in Poseidon's line scooted over, much to the shock of the occupants of the thrones. The throne was pitch black with red flames coming from the bottom front of the throne. One of the sides had the most beautiful scenery known to mankind while the other side was a grey color. Percy guessed they resembled the three places people go to after death.

Hades actually had a shocked face portraying his emotion and Percy chuckled at it until Hades tried to form his usual stoic face. He walked up to Percy and said, "I thank you Percy for restoring my throne. If you ever need help, you are always welcome in my domain." With that, Hades sat on his throne.

Hestia walked up to Percy and gave him a quick hug. "Thank you young Perseus. If you ever need help, come to the hearth." With that, she walked back to the hearth.

Percy was confused, however. "Lord Zeus, where is Hestia's throne?" Percy only saw Hades' throne appear in the circle and he was a little mad if they didn't complete his request. Zeus quickly spoke up, "It appears Hestia rather likes it at the hearth so she would prefer not to have a visible throne in the circle."

Percy could understand. He really wouldn't want to be in the middle of all the yelling matches during the council meetings either.

Poseidon spoke up again in a proud yet slightly sad voice. "Now, back to the matter of your reward, while I will miss having you by my side, helping me rule my kingdom, I understand why you have declined." He gave a knowing look to Annabeth as Percy gained a sea green aura that was a little brighter than the others, flowing over him in a wavelike pattern.

Little did they know what this phenomenon actually meant. But if anyone was to look into Percy's eyes when he gained that semi-faint glow, you would have seen them start to swirl with power that was unknowingly given to him.

Like I said before, the beginning is going to have short chapter because of the constant changing scenes and time frames so we can get to the good parts faster. Okay, enough talk. I'll start working on the next chapters. See ya guys later!


	3. Calm Before the Storm

1 Month Later

Percy and his friends lived a happy, peaceful life for a whole month. Some would say that wasn't very long, but for a demigod, it was paradise. No wars to fight and in the sevens' case, no wars to lead.

Everyone from both camps were content. Even though only a few Romans were allowed to visit at a time and vice versa, there hadn't been any fights between the Romans and Greeks which surprised many demigods.

The leaders of both camps had a strict but gentle rule that kept both camps in line. If a problem ever arose, it would be settled diplomatically and end of story. After constant fighting for many years, Percy wanted a break and would not settle for a fight breaking out. This was proven when the campers saw an angry Percy once, and they made a pact to never see it again. It resulted in pain and humiliation to the victims.

But, surprisingly to many demigods, when they looked at Percy, it was like the war didn't change him. He was always smiling and cared for the younger campers. Any camper could still see that spark in his eye and sometimes even a skip in his step. All a camper had to do was ask for help and he would drop whatever he was doing and be by their side in an instant.

Need a sword lesson? Percy was on his way. Jason needed help to settle a dispute on the Roman side? Percy was on his way. Need help with your archery lesson? Percy ... Well, they knew not to ask him for that unless they were trying to embarrass him (which happened quite a bunch to the amusement of the campers).

Percy was finally at peace. He watched his friends having a great time with their loved ones and other friends and knew it was the same with the Romans. Percy and Jason worked long and hard to keep the camps from fighting and they were finally able to relax and enjoy themselves.

As Percy stretched back into his lounge chair, he felt soft, warm hands cover his eyes when a fake, gruff voice said, "Can you guess who it is?" Percy pretended not to know who it was and felt the hands covering his eyes. He traced the memorized creases in her hands and said, "Hmmm, I'm not very wise like some people so I don't know if I can say for sure."

Annabeth laughed her sweet, hypnotizing laugh that would always and forever be his favorite sound. She uncovered his eyes and went around him to sit on his lap.

Leaning against his chest, Annabeth sighed and said, "It's nice to be able to sit and relax every once in awhile." Percy smiled up at her and simply replied, "Yes, yes it is." With that, they had a passionate kiss expressing their love without words.

The campers paused in their daily activities to watch the two lovebirds. They were happy that two of the hardest working people in their lives finally had the time to enjoy themselves and have a much needed rest, even though some of the younger campers were a little squeamish with the show of affection. Everybody owed them so much and could only express their gratitude by doing anything asked of them while wishing they could do more.

The rest of the day went by like the others in the past month with the sounds of training and the lava wall shooting out lava to try to stop the campers from reaching the top. The clang of swords connecting could be heard in the area with shouts and cheers from the campers. Soft beats of wings from the pegasus flying class was like soothing music to Percy's ears and was one of his favorite classes.

Even though it was a peaceful time. The campers had no delusion or was crazy enough to think the peace would last forever. So, while still enjoying their time, they trained long and hard to be the best that they could be. They would be prepared for future challenges and would protect their home with their lives. After seeing the camp attacked repeatedly and burned almost to the ground, the campers had a new sense of duty to protect their home. Also, they didn't like being the cleanup crew so they would do their best to prevent needing one.

Percy was also the biggest role model for all campers. Every once in awhile, his quests and adventures during the war were told at the campfire much to Percy's embarrassment. The younger campers would always exclaim that they were going to be as strong as Percy and save the camp. The more grown up campers thought (instead of exclaim) the same thing and worked twice as hard showing their dedication.

The two camps had never seen better days. With Greeks and Romans working together and teaching each other decades of knowledge, the two camps grew closer and became an unstoppable force. Monsters were being taken down with more ease than ever before and casualties dropped drastically. However, for reasons unknown, the monsters started to think before attacking so they wouldn't meet an instant demise. They could even be seen in groups. Even though they still had poor strategy skills, numbers could definitely make a difference.

The campers saw this new monster strategy as both beneficial and detrimental. Good because by taking down these bigger groups, it showed how powerful the campers had gotten working together as one unit. Not so good because the monsters were adapting and had now learned that to beat demigods, they had to plan ahead. However, it would still be a while for them to master this 'thinking before attacking' strategy since they hadn't done any of that in who knew how long.

After taking a walk on the beach, Annabeth and Percy headed off to their cabins to wish each other goodnight. Percy escorted her to her cabin and did a bow. "I shall take my leave, milady. Have a wonderful good night's sleep." Percy was just smiling like a goofball while Annabeth just shook her head.

She replied in a sweet, love-struck tone, "I shall my Perseus. Farewell and may you too have a wonderful night's sleep." Both of them chuckled before giving each other a kiss and going their separate ways. Right before Percy reached the door, he heard a scream outside the border.

He quickly sprinted up the hill to find a demigod running up the hill with two hellhounds chasing after him. The kid had black, baggy hair and had a body that didn't look like he did a lot of exercise which was probably why he was panting so hard. He looked about 15 or 16 and while looking frightened at the moment, Percy could see intelligence behind his eyes.

Percy quickly ran down the hill and stood between the hellhounds and the kid. They stared at each other for a little bit assessing each other. Percy was surprised to see a couple of scrapes on the hellhound which the dagger in the kid's hand must have done. He inwardly congratulated him and made sure to give him some props after they got back to camp.

After the hellhounds finally decided to make their first and last move, they charged foolhardy at one of the most powerful demigods the world had ever seen. The kid tried to help fight but was both times a little late only getting the golden dust splattered on him right after Percy went on to the next.

After a few quick stabs, slashes, and dodges, the battle was over. The kid was covered in dust while Percy just returned his sword to pen just as clean as when he started. Percy looked over the kid and was about to ask if he was okay when a few other campers with battle armor crested the hill and walked down to see them. The kid stood up straighter and looked himself over and apparently came up with a plan based on his smirk towards Percy.

When the campers reached them, the kid said, "You guys are a little late to the party just like this guy, I don't know what those dog things were but they know not to mess with me anymore." The campers gave him a once over and a glance at Percy's confused expression and they all knew the kid was lying.

Annabeth walked up to the kid and said, "Well let's take the hound slaying demigod to the big house to get you cleaned up and educate yourself on what those beasts are." For a second, Percy thought Annabeth believed him but as she was leading the kid away, she sent a wink Percy's way which made him sigh in relief. He didn't know why he even doubted her.

A couple of campers asked what really happened and he just replied that it was a couple of hellhounds and nothing to worry about. Okay with the simple explanation, each headed off back to their cabins or border patrol the same as ever. Not knowing how much their views would change over time.

Camp life went on like nothing happened. The kid, named Nathan, turned out to be a son of Morpheus which explained his physique and was introduced to his other, tired cabin mates. He seemed to fit in with all the others but he spent most of his time doing physical activities unlike his cabin mates who slept more than worked.

Campers would sometimes find him meditating in a quiet place or in his cabin (which the only noise in there would be the occasional snore). People just went along with his meditation instead of actually sleeping like a son of Morpheus and guessed meditation was, in a way, sleeping if the campers didn't think about it too hard.

However, Nathan was doing far more than meditating. After figuring out he was a child of Morpheus, he worked on his demigod abilities. He didn't have any physical fighting powers like some of the Olympians so he had to work really hard to get himself noticed. His favorite and most practiced power was the ability to enter someone's dreams and add/manipulate any dream they had. He wasn't able to change the person's feelings but the added events he put into their heads could.

What many people overlook is that the mind was the most important part of who someone was. While it wasn't obvious on the outside with muscle and beauty in the way, the mind decided how to use what everyone saw. Nathan could argue all day that his ability was one of the most powerful should he be given time. Of course, he would lose in a physical fight with just about any camper. Though if he could manipulate someone's mind before it got physical, then he would be guaranteed the win.

He started practicing on his fellow cabin mates since they were always sleeping, and after a few months of practice, he was able to add events such as someone stealing their pillow while Nathan was the actual thief.

He was quite proud of his power but knew he needed to keep it a secret for what he planned to do. He knew that the campers didn't believe him when he claimed to kill the hellhounds. He saw how the campers always looked to Percy with awe and respect that he craved. They were following him like a love-struck fool, well, the Aphrodite campers really were love-struck fools.

He tried to learn the fighting skills other demigods learned to get some attention but his body was not built for that type of training. He had to resort to his wits and demigod abilities if he wanted fame. And, he knew, that the first thing he needed to get rid of was the sole focus of attention, Percy Jackson.

He started out adding dreams into his cabin mates' minds about Percy messing with them and even destroying their favorite pillows, which was a huge deal to his cabin mates. At first, they were just a little annoyed that Percy would do something like that but grew to disgust when their pillows were destroyed.

Accomplished with his own cabin, he started to manipulate the other campers. He started with the minor god cabins and one by one they all started to hate Percy. Most stayed away from him and shunned him so nobody really noticed the amount of hate growing for Percy.

After successfully manipulating half the camp, he started to move into the big leagues, Percy's friends. Not his best friends for they were going to be the hardest and final blow to Percy. Well, actually the gods would take the most time but he had already been influencing them when they came to camp.

See, ever since the end of the war, the gods decided they should spend more time with their children. Not really interfering with their lives which would be against their laws, but just talking to them and making sure their children knew they loved them so another war didn't break out with their own children against them.

Nathan started with Ares since he just had respect for Percy but didn't necessarily like him. It took about 3 days of adding bits and pieces of thoughts in his head for him to put a full idea of Percy messing up his favorite bike.

Right before Ares went to yell at Percy, Percy started to notice how the camp didn't really ask for help anymore or even talk to him for the matter. Every time Percy went up to the campers, they would give him a glare and have one word answers until Percy left confused. When Ares did come to yell at Percy for messing with his bike, Ares got even angrier with Percy saying he didn't do it when Ares clearly saw him doing it.

Percy grew more and more confused and a little worried at what was happening to the camp. He didn't want to involve his friends as to not add worry into their lives so he looked more into it without involving them. He found that pretty much every minor god child openly hated him which left Percy wondering what he unknowingly did to deserve their hate. He couldn't think of one idea even after reviewing his past few weeks at camp.

Nathan was on a role. After convincing Ares, he decided to work on his children since they were all hot headed just like their father. One by one, he manipulated all the Ares kids except for Clarisse because she would know for sure that Percy wouldn't do something to make her hate him. At first, Nathan saw Clarisse constantly picking on Percy and thought about how easy it would be to manipulate her. However, when he looked more into it, he saw how it was just friendly banter and saw in their eyes the trust they put into each other. He then decided not to mess with her until everybody else hated him. He then manipulated the other gods and their children until pretty much everyone but Percy's close friends hated him.

Percy didn't know what was happening. Almost all the campers started yelling at him telling him to 'back off' or 'how could he do this to them?' He was even more surprised when god after god came down to yell at him too. Apparently, Percy lost Katie when he flooded her garden and killed all her plants when some were a gift from her mother. He lost the Stolls when he prevented one of their best pranks from happening and saying it was a stupid prank to begin with. Especially when they planned it for months and even got help from their dad.

Just like that, he lost all his friends. Soon, Annabeth and the friends he had left started to notice something was wrong with Percy when they started to see him sulk and lose some of the spark in his eyes he used to have. But, Percy being Percy, said he was fine and kept pushing forward.

Soon, Nathan was able to start picking off his close friends which he knew would devastate Percy. After 5 months of hard work, Nathan was able to accomplish changing everybody close to him except Hestia and Hades (who never really visited camp), Poseidon (who he was saving for the second to last blow), Annabeth, Grover, Nico (who was never at camp just like his father),, and Thaila (who was too busy recruiting to build up the Hunters former ranks). Chiron was off helping the Romans so he couldn't help defend Percy, and Nathan doubted he could manipulate Percy's half-brother since he was an oaf and always at the forge.

Percy was an emotional wreck. He couldn't comprehend why the campers claimed they saw him do these things but Percy couldn't think straight with all his emotions getting in the way. The more aggressive campers would sometimes corner him and beat him up. Of course, he wouldn't fight back because he knew he would hurt them and just accepted the punishment that he apparently deserved, but for the life of him he couldn't understand. He gained a good amount of scars from their small little torture sessions that just added to the already startling amount he had hidden under his clothes from Tartarus.

Percy lost Grover when he apparently burned Juniper's tree and almost killed her. It was only made even more painful when at night he felt his empathy link slowly dull and painfully break. He cried well into the night before falling into a restless sleep.

All Percy had left was his father and girlfriend. He did his best to hold on but Percy's luck was never good. Thus, during one of the campfires, he lost another.

Percy was sulking in front of the campfire where he could feel the glares of all the campers. The only comfort he had was a confused Annabeth's arm around him. She didn't know why all the campers all of the sudden hated Percy and she glared back at them.

All of the sudden, Poseidon flashed in looking like all the other gods before him, furious. "Percy! Why would you do this!?" Percy looked at his father in fear of knowing what was about to come. Again, he apparently did something and every god turned on him. Percy knew he wouldn't be able to cope with losing his father too.

Percy said full of tears while Annabeth looked on the verge too with confusion as to what was happening to her boyfriend, "Father, you have to believe me! I didn't do anything." Poseidon looked at the campers around him and say many scoffs and eye rolls at Percy's plead which only enraged Poseidon further that his son ... no ... his former son would lie to him.

Poseidon's face became stoic as he stared at the boy's tear streaked face and said, "I, Poseidon, god of sea, earthquakes, and horses, renounce you as my son." Poseidon would have taken all his ties away from this boy but that was impossible so he would just have to make due with making him officially an orphan.

Nathan was smart enough to manipulate Percy's mother and stepfather too so now they didn't want Percy anywhere near their newborn baby, and they wanted their baby to be kept away from the mythological world.

Percy stared at his father in shock with more tears streaming down his face until Poseidon flashed out. Many mutters were heard around the campfire such as 'he deserved it, serves him right, finally,' and other such phrases.

Percy stormed out of the campfire towards his cabin trying not to completely burst with Annabeth following right behind him. When she was about to enter Percy's cabin, she was shutout when he went into his former fathers cabin. She could hear him crying and tried to get in but Percy never responded, too depressed to do anything.

She sighed confused as to why this was happening. She decided that a good night's sleep would help her focus so she went back to her cabin. Most campers already were in bed after the little show and Annabeth was given some halfhearted glares for still supporting Percy.

She heard that Percy did a whole bunch of cruel things to them but she just couldn't see Percy doing any of those things. He was the kindest person she had ever met and didn't have a single ounce of cruelty in him. She fell asleep still as confused as ever until she 'remembered' Percy talking to a camper from the first war and laughing about Luke's death saying he was worthless.

The camper remarked saying, "How could you say that. What about Annabeth? She would be crushed if she heard you say that!" Percy just openly laughed and said, "So what? I'm just her boyfriend to be able to say I'm Olympus' architect's husband. Who wouldn't want to be her husband?" The girl stared at Percy in shock and said, "What do you mean, husband?"

Percy smirked and said, "I plan to ask her to marry me in a little bit so she will be stuck with me. I'll pretend to love her and we can be the most famous couple in the history of Greek mythology. Of course, why stay faithful with someone you don't love. I already have a real girlfriend so I can publicly have a famous girlfriend and secretly have a loving girlfriend." The last thing she remembered was the girl slapping Percy before she left.

She remembered running back to her cabin balling her eyes out when she ran into Nathan. He comforted her by saying he heard what Percy said and he would never cheat on someone as smart and beautiful as her. She remembered clinging to him as a lifeline and him giving her a shoulder to cry on.

She remembered thinking how caring he was unlike Percy. She didn't know what overcame herself but she kissed him. She thought he would reject her but was surprised when he tilted her chin up and smashed his lips onto hers. She remembered thinking this was the best kiss she had ever had and only wanted to be wrapped up in his arms which he gladly accepted her wish.

Her eyes snapped open. She couldn't believe it. She wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes. She woke up crying and her cabin mates comforted her when they heard what Percy said. She could now see why the campers hated that lying, cheating bastard. But she knew one thing, he would regret cheating on her.

The next day, Percy woke up and decided he was going to propose to Annabeth so he wouldn't lose the last thing he loved in life. He got dressed in his best camp half-blood shirt (since he didn't have a suit) and walked out confident that she would say yes and his life would be okay. As long as he had her, he could deal with everybody else hating him. He thought about if she denied and he had nothing left ... no, he couldn't think like that.

He walked around camp trying to find Annabeth but not willing to ask the hateful campers in fear of more rejection. He heard cheering off in the distance and his curiosity won out. He strolled over to see what was getting everybody all riled up since he was still the leader of camp, albeit, a hated one.

What he saw made what was left of his heart shatter. Annabeth and Nathan were in the middle of the crowd kissing each other fervently. Percy could only stare and watch in confusion. Just last night Annabeth was comforting Percy saying she would always love him even if everyone else hated him.

He pulled out a box and opened it up. Inside was a ring fit for the gods, well, a god did help make it. It was a golden band with intricate swirl indentions engraved on it. Pure silver was poured into the swirls and added an unearthly glow to it that would have attracted any eye. Two bright, sea green stones that matched his eyes were on each side of a slightly bigger, greyish silver gem with an owl sketched inside. The sea green stones used to swirl with pure love for the wearer but now were only a dark sea green that resembled sick waters and no longer matched the ring. It had an inscription saying My Wise Girl in a very beautiful script.

He dropped the box with the ring inside before walking away without anybody noticing. He slowly made his way to his cabin and looked inside of his home thinking back to the times when everything was perfect.

All Percy could think before he burst into tears was, "What happened?"


	4. Leaving Behind Old Memories

~~~Up on Olympus right before Percy saw Annabeth with Nathan~~~

The Olympians were having a council meeting just to catch up on any recent events and fix any lasting war damage. Discussion topics such as natural disasters that annoyed some gods while helped other gods, jobs of the minor gods, and the usual bickering of the gods also occurred. However, they soon came to the topic of their children's camp which in turn led to the topic of a certain demigod named Percy Jackson.

Ares spoke in an enraged tone, "I can't believe that bastard Percy would ruin my bike! It took me a whole week to fix it!" Ares sat on his throne fuming while the other gods gave Ares a look that said, 'You too?' While Hestia, who was sitting at the hearth, wore a confused expression and wondered as to why they were talking about the Hero of Olympus with such distaste and malice.

Each god described what Percy did to them and Hestia was most surprised when she heard Poseidon say he disowned him with the other gods nodding their heads and saying it was a wise choice. She looked around and it seemed that the only other god in the same boat as her was Hades. Though he was too busy in his thoughts and looking at the other gods to make eye contact with her. Hestia was struck speechless and couldn't understand why the gods would believe Percy, one of the kindest demigods ever known, would ever utterly disrespect them like that. She could not possibly see Percy doing those things. The only solution she could come up with was that someone must be influencing their decisions which in turn worried her of someone had the power to accomplish this.

She abruptly stood up from her hearth and walked to the center of the throne room to the surprise of the bickering gods. She straightened her posture and looked in the eyes of every god and said four words that utterly stunned the Olympians into silence, "You are all fools." Every god sat, except Hestia because she was standing, there in silence, shocked with her words.

However, they were all knocked out of their silence when Aphrodite doubled over and fell out of her throne. Apollo was quick to action and flashed by her side to see what was wrong. He quickly covered her with his aura but didn't feel any internal or external injuries, however, he could tell her godly aura was erratic and what seemed like ... broken.

Aphrodite couldn't hold back the tears and started crying which greatly worried the gods. Zeus flashed by her and said, "What is wrong?" in such a worried voice that surprised the other gods in the room. Zeus never really showed that kind of emotion to the other gods but a man can change, right?

She replied through choked sobs, "A ... great love ... was just ... broken. ... A love ... that could outlast time ... just broke." The Olympians were now curious about who this was, but before they could ask her, she flashed out leaving only the smell of overdue perfume behind.

After getting over their shock, they found their way back to the thrones and confronted the problem before Aphrodite had a mental breakdown. Poseidon spoke, "What do you mean, Hestia?" Hestia looked outraged which made a couple of gods shiver in fear and all of them to pale a good bit.

"What do I mean!?" She looked at all the gods individually. "I mean think about what you are saying! How could Percy possibly commit these crimes?" At the mention of his name the gods got a disgusted look on their face. Zeus spoke first, "That bastard has decided he is all high and mighty and can get away with anything he wants. You heard our reasons and we saw this with our own eyes."

Hestia didn't calm down one bit, "Just because your eyes see something doesn't mean it's true! Does this sound like anything Percy would do? He is the most kind and gentle man I have ever met. While he can be a little disrespectful, he would never treat the gods with this much disrespect and you should know that." The gods now had thoughtful faces before semi-admitting that it wasn't something Percy would normally do.

Zeus, who still wholeheartedly believed Percy was guilty, said, "No being is powerful enough deceive our own eyes and we would have been able to sense if it wasn't Percy." Hestia had had enough. She bid her farewell with a bow to Zeus saying she was sorry for interrupting their meeting, even though they all knew she wasn't, and flashed out. She left most of the gods doubting what they saw but they couldn't bring themselves to agree with Hestia for fear of what they had done.

~~~Back at camp~~~

After Percy woke up from falling asleep on his floor, he knew there was nothing left for him at camp. He somberly packed his belongings he had which included a change of clothes, ambrosia, nectar, and some other necessities. He was about to walk out of the door when a last thought popped up and he decided to return something that was given to him. He didn't know if it would work but he would try.

He took Riptide out of his pocket, letting it roll around in the palm of his hand. He reminisced about all the times the pen/sword came in handy and how many adventures he used it on. It had always been with him from the start and saved his life many times. Because it held too many memories, he wanted to leave it behind and just start over with a clean slate. He didn't want to give it back to his former father but he also didn't want to take it with him which would remind him of his time at camp.

"I, Perseus Jackson, relieve my ownership of this weapon and wish it to return to its original owner." With that, the now glowing pen transformed into a hairclip and disappeared out of his hand. He slung his bag over his shoulder hoping it worked and walked out of the door.

He was thankful that it was before sunrise around 4:00 am so he wouldn't run into any campers. He looked up to the stars and stood transfixed at the beauty in the sky. Everything looked the same as it was before except for the Huntress. The stars were shining brighter than any other and now had a silver tint to them making it stand out even more from the other stars. Percy was relieved that it worked. Hopefully this could be a start to a good day even if he was leaving camp.

He quickly and quietly got a sword out of the armory checking the weight and length of each one until he found a thin but sturdy one that balanced the best. After strapping it on his side, he walked up the hill where Peleus guarded the Golden Fleece. The dragon raised his head as Percy approached but knew he wasn't going for the fleece so he rested his head back on his legs.

Percy walked over to the dragon and ran his fingers along the side of its head. "Guard the camp for me Peleus." He huffed out a snort of smoke as an answer and Percy took it as a yes. He looked back over his old home. He saw the cabins off to the side and remembered when he first got here with only 12 cabins. Now, there were many, many more.

He saw the big house still the same as ever and the memories of all the times he visited bombarded his head. The oracle in the roof, his couple of visits with some of his many injuries, the meetings around the ping pong table, first time meeting Chiron and ... Annabeth. Some tears started flowing down his face but he quickly wiped them away. She made her decision to leave him and he wasn't going to cry about it. She would regret leaving him when she found that there would never be anyone that loved her like he did. He looked back over the camp and knew he would miss the good times he had here but knew he was no longer welcome.

He also looked over towards the gate connecting them to the Roman camp and felt a small pang enter his chest. He hadn't talk to many of his friends on that side and he really didn't want to have to hear any more derogatory comments. He didn't think he could take them. He also couldn't visit them or even meet with some because Percy knew the campers at Camp Half-Blood could find him through them. He felt saddened for leaving them but to him this was the best option.

He walked through the forest for a couple of minutes heading to New York when flames erupted before him leaving one of the two gods who hadn't betrayed him. His eyes instantly became blurry with unshed tears knowing what was about to happen but was surprised when Hestia said, "Do not cry hero."

Percy's head shot up and looked on in hope that she wasn't here to yell at him for who knows what. She continued, "I know you didn't commit these crimes because it is something you are incapable of. The Olympians are blind to not the see this." She added the last part with a little bit of disgust which surprised Percy. He never thought Hestia was capable of using that tone.

What happened next surprised both of them. Percy didn't know what came over him but he knew he needed some form of comfort and he hugged Hestia with everything he had left. She was one of the few he had left and he couldn't let her go.

Hestia, at first, was surprised by the hug filled with so much emotion but quickly hugged back to Percy's relief. Hestia had never felt this feeling before. She was always warm but there was a new warmth slowly spreading through her. She looked down at the sobbing demigod and she knew what she felt.

She started stroking his hair saying it would be okay and hummed a soft tune. After a couple of minutes, he pulled back and half-heartedly apologized. Hestia just smiled and gently said, "Percy, look at me." He looked up at her with broken eyes that Hestia was not prepared for. She saw the pain that had been inflicted on him the past several months and it hurt her just thinking about it.

She remembered when his eyes were full of life, giving hope to anybody who needed some. All they had to do was look to Percy and he would comfort and inspire them to do their best, to believe in themselves. She knew what she had to do and was hoping beyond hope he would accept. "Percy ... I know you have been through much. And I know this is asking much of you ... but ... would you allow me to adopt you?" There was silence as Percy digested this request.

Hestia was a little afraid of his answer but that thought instantly flew out the window when Percy threw himself at her with another hug bursting into tears again. She again started stroking his hair letting him release his pent up emotion.

Percy looked into Hestia's warm, caring eyes and said filled with emotion, "I would love to be your son, mom." He gave her another big hug and she felt Percy start to warm and glow a little orange. But what caught her attention was that the new orange aura started to swirl and intertwine in a sea green aura that she recognized from the ceremony. It was the most beautiful and mesmerizing sight she had ever seen.

However, as soon as she saw it, it disappeared, leaving her wishing she could still watch it for a while longer. She knew Percy was still meant for great things and he would still accomplish much in his life. He had a tough life ahead of him and she needed to be there for him whenever she could.

"Percy, know this. I will always love you. No matter what people say about you or what I may think I see you do. I will trust you and love you with all my heart and no one will convince me otherwise." Percy smiled a genuine smile that hadn't been seen on his face since he started to notice the hatred amongst the campers. This smile made Hestia's heart warm and skip a beat at the beauty of it.

She had never known what it was like to love someone with all her heart. Don't get her wrong, she loved her family, but Percy just gave her a different feeling she had never felt before. Someone to call hers, someone to give her life for, someone who would do the same for her.

They both smiled at each other and Hestia said, "Live on for those you care about. Make a new name for yourself. Be my champion and wreak havoc on your enemies. And know you will always have a home at the hearth." With one last loving look, she 'flamed' out.

Percy now had renewed determination to fight. He would fight for his loving mother and would live on like she said. He would find a new purpose and make her the proudest mother in the world. He would train long and hard to be the best he could be, to be able to defeat anyone who dared threatened anybody he cared about.


	5. New Discoveries

Hope you're enjoying the story so far. I'm finally getting to the good parts so I'll start to add more detail to the story since Percy's journey has now officially begun. Feel free to leave any comments or questions. Now, onto the story!

Since he left camp, Percy wandered around the country coming to terms with past events and fighting every known monster there was in Greek mythology. He defeated the Minotaur at least 12 more times which made Percy wonder why he kept clawing his way out of Tartarus just to die again. He finally got his revenge on Echidna and her bastard pet for making him jump off the arc 600 ft. in the air! He even had to kill his old friend the manticore. Though, now he was kind of happy he pulled Annabeth off the cliff with him and wish he killed her so he wouldn't have had to go through this pain. So, since he didn't kill her, he decided to pay him back and kill him instead. The most challenging one he faced was probably Kampe with all the heads and snakes attached to her (involuntary shiver throughout the body).

After four years of constant running and fighting monsters non-stop, anyone could look at Percy and tell he wasn't someone to mess with. He had scars running down his muscular arms and legs and if he took off his shirt they would see many more given to him thanks to the one and only Tartarus. He still couldn't believe he jumped in that pit just to save ... her.

Over the years, he came to terms with the campers betrayal and no longer let their decision affect them. He resolved himself to start over and create a new life for himself. He knew wherever he ended up would gladly accept him. It wasn't like he was bragging or anything but he knew his strengths. His was loyal without fault and would die for the people he cared about. He was a phenomenal fighter and an excellent leader. He was a kind hearted person who would give up his time for even the smallest of needs. He swore to himself long ago to never change from his ideals and stay true to himself.

His eyes held a deep sadness in them but strength like no other. His emotionless face hidden behind a mask which only showed his mouth, giving him an intimidating look. His swirling sea-green eyes with bright orange flecks could leave anyone frozen if they stared too long, which was okay with Percy because it made them much easier to kill. His skin-tight clothes were cut in many different places and sown, however very sloppy, back together. His hair was unruly as ever with an ice blue strip where his white hair used to be.

One thing he noticed along his travels was that his powers came easier to him. It was like partial immortality increased his abilities which made Percy extremely grateful during his travels. One could say he was even more powerful than some gods. He could control almost any liquid to a certain degree determined by how much water was in it and he could take water out of thin air. Though he could only manipulate the water into different shapes so far. With enough practice he should be able to create intricate designs. He also gained the ability to flame and mist travel. All he had to do was focus on the particles of water in his body or the heat his body produced in order to travel wherever he wanted. After a little work, he could travel over 100 miles and was steadily improving through practice. However, he found it much easier to mist travel than flame travel, but he put it down as being the biological son of Poseidon. He couldn't really practice his earthshaker power since it could cause severe damage to the surrounding towns so he didn't know how much those abilities were affected.

He could also control heat wherever it was, whether it be in the air, ground, or even bodies. He gained the ability to manipulate fire and was extremely surprised that while traveling, he willed some Greek fire to move and it moved an inch which opened many, many possibilities. One of his favorites though was being able to summon delicious, home cooked meals. He really thanked his mother on that one since he was always on the run.

His most dynamic power, yet only used in extreme circumstances, was the ability to focus on the water inside someone and manipulate it on the spot. However, he would only use it as a last resort since it was not a power he was very proud to use. He was never one to cause pain to others without reason.

After a while, he got tired of fighting every monster that came at him. It's not like they were necessarily hard to beat, but they were just a pain in the ass to deal with because Percy had to stop, take out his sword, move his arm to kill it, sheath his sword, then go on his way. That was way too much work.

He also had to worry about any of the gods or hunters finding him. About a month after his disappearance, everybody, including gods, demigods, and even Lupa's pack, started looking for Percy to probably finish him off. He wouldn't be surprised if the gods ordered everyone to hunt him down since he was a 'threat to Olympus.' He just rolled his eyes at the attempt to catch him and wished them the best of luck.

After getting in the routine of constant moving, he set out to find a way to leave the country or find somewhere to just stay and not worry about everything else going on around him. He couldn't fly or sail away since that would be in the gods' domain and when he was at the borders he found some discreet campers standing guard.

Knowing they would never suspect his next plan, he snuck into Olympus on his third year of traveling and went to Athena's private library to see if he could find a way to get the monsters to stop coming after him. Some would be surprised that Percy would go to the library but all they needed to know was that he wasn't the same Perseus they knew three years ago.

While searching through a book about monsters in a small section near the corner, he saw different monsters depicted in the book that he was 99.9% sure wasn't in Greek or Roman Mythology. As a matter of fact, he was pretty sure they weren't in any mythology. He researched more on these monsters and found out they were on different planets. That then led to research on different planets. Percy was a little disappointed that Athena had extremely little on the topic of different planets but he found that every five years the Starway bus came to Earth and picked people up to transport them to different planets.

He knew this was what he wanted to do right when he read about it. There was nothing left for him on Earth except his mom. He had visited her every once in a while for a day and they just spent time together. When he told his mom about what he planned, she was sad at first but quickly said she understood and wished him luck. He researched the pickup site which was located in Kansas, and the next scheduled time was next year on exactly August 18th. Percy's only thought was 'Ironic.'

After waiting a year, he mist traveled to the pickup point in Kansas and found himself in a bleak landscape with farms across the horizon. He waited there for a couple of hours before the sky darkened and a tornado came down. He instantly froze his feet with ice and willed himself to stay on the ground while the wind whipped around him, trying to suck him up and throw him across a farm. After the tornado touched the ground, it started moving westward but left a bus with the gigantic words 'Starway Jeros' along the side.

Percy was just happy that the tornado didn't suck him up and take him to the magical Wizarding World of Oz or whatever. Even though it couldn't be much more magical than his life. The door to the bus opened up and Percy was shocked to see that the driver's skin was an ashen grey and he had small pincers across his mouth like a grasshopper. His body structure looked similar to humans except with one less finger on each hand.

He looked Percy over and said, "I've never actually seen an earthling before. Do you all wear masks and have raggedy clothes?" After leaving camp, he didn't want anybody to know who he was so he could start anew. He made a black mask with sea green and orange lines swirling together creating a beautiful and intricate design. Even though his father disowned him, sea green was still his favorite color even though flame orange was now his close second.

Percy just smiled a little bit and said, "No, let's just say I don't like people seeing my face. So, where can this bus take me and what payment is needed?" Percy added that last part a little nervously because he didn't even think about payment until he saw a little box by the door.

The driver looked him over again now wondering if he would be able to pay. "This bus can take you all the way to quadrant 75, but I'm guessing you have no idea where that is, do you?" The driver said in a knowing tone and Percy just smiled sheepishly thankful that the bus driver couldn't see it.

Percy replied formally, "No I don't sir. Right now all I want to do is get off this planet. I would like to go someplace where I can get a job or earn some cash while also learning about planets other than Earth. Do you take payment in drachmas?"

The driver was in the middle of taking a drink of a weird purplish, gooish substance when he spat it back out and looked at Percy, shock written all over his face until it changed to denial.

"Drachmas," he laughed. "If you don't even know what lol is then you can't possible have any drachmas. Anyway, drachmas are not seen very often. There almost on the rare side." Percy stopped listening and started giggling to himself when he said lol and the driver looked a little mad now.

"What are you laughing at, boy!?"

Percy just said laughingly, "You said lol. On Earth that means something funny but the way you said it made it sound like money. So what is lol?"

The driver scoffed, "Lol is the highest currency under drachmas. If you have about 100 lol you are considered middle class and can live a comfortable life. I only have in total 50 lol and as you can see my life is an intergalactic bus driver."

Percy honestly thought that was a pretty cool job but that was probably because he had never been to other planets before. He asked, "How many lols is a drachma worth?"

The driver just shook his head trying to figure out why he was teaching an earth boy about these trivial things. "A drachma is worth 5 lols."

Percy had about 16 drachmas on him so that's about 80 lols. He smiled to himself thinking that he was richer than the bus driver. "So, out of curiosity, how much would a bus ride to a planet where I could start a new life and earn some money be?"

He looked back at the boy. He was in a good mood considering Earth was the last stop in his route so he wasn't in a hurry to get home and was starting to get a little amused by this Earth boy. However, no amount of amusement would get this boy a free ride. "Hmm" he hummed aloud. He knew a couple of good places to take him to start a good life but then an amusing idea popped into his head.

The driver smiled and said, "I know a perfect place for you to go to start a new life. But, yet again, I will not take you without money and this trip would cost 5 tut which is worth about 1/20th a lol." Percy thought that was a lot for a bus drive but maybe wherever he was being taken to was quite far away.

Percy pretended to look a little put down by slouching his shoulders but then straightened up in a confident posture which the driver didn't necessarily like. Percy said, "If I paid you a drachma would you give me free ride whenever I ask for it?"

The driver just stared at this kid with no money and cracked up. "Kid, you got no money so what is the point?"

Percy slightly smiled and said, "Amuse me."

The driver gained a little bit of his composure and said, "Sure kid, if you can give me a drachma then I would give you a free pass whenever you want a ride." He knew this kid who had no idea what most currency was couldn't have even the slightest chance of having a drachma.

Percy said, "Can I have that on paper?"

The driver just decided to go along with it so he could be done quicker. He opened a compartment and took out a bluish paper, wrote the note and handed it to Percy.

Once Percy read the note, he smirked and started digging into his backpack. The driver said, "Kid, you are wasting my time. I don't have time to ..." He stopped short when the kid pulled out a drachma and presented it to the driver.

The driver just stood there trying to process how this Earth boy got a hold onto a drachma. He took it to make sure it was real and amazingly it was. "Where did you get this!?"

Percy just shrugged his shoulders and walked onto the bus while the driver still stood there looking at the drachma.

Percy looked at the bus driver with barely contained laughter and said, "Lol, now you're five lols richer" and he burst out laughing.


	6. New Beginnings

After getting over his shock that the kid handed him a drachma, money of Chaos, he thought unless the kid rode the bus over 100 times, he'd be making a big profit. "Hey kid," he began, "so I am honest to my word and plan to keep this deal but are you going to use this bus a lot?" ' _Please say no, please say no_ ' the driver hoped.

Percy laughed at his expression. "Probably not. Like I said I want to start a new life so I probably will only use this bus if I really need it. I just wanted to make sure I always have a way around the universe if I ever need it."

The bus driver grinned from ear to ear thinking how much of a profit he was making and decided he should probably be a little nicer to this boy. "So kid, what's your name?" Percy paused for a second thinking. Since he was starting a new life, he should also have another name to wipe the slate clean and start over.

The bus driver sat there for a second wondering if Earth people do have names or not.

Percy held his chin in a thoughtful manner and replied, "No one has asked me for my name in 4 years." Percy had been on the constant run and monsters don't really ask for demigods' names while they were trying to kill them. It was usually like 'There you are' then attack.

The bus driver thought, ' _loner_.' But now that he was really looking at the boy, he looked pretty beat up. His clothes were torn to shreds and his arms were covered with scars like he was tortured or something. He had no doubt that under his clothes would most likely reveal even more scars.

He was brought out of his thoughts when Percy said, "I guess since I'm starting a new life I should also get a new name."

The bus driver shrugged and said, "If you say so." He wasn't keen on asking what his past life entailed because it was none of his business and he really didn't want to know how he got those scars. The scars actually reminded him of the brutes in the tournaments he used to watch and he couldn't imagine this kid fighting in the area for a living.

Percy sat there in the front row thinking of what would be a good name. He wanted it to be a Greek name so he never forgot his heritage even though they all hate him and betrayed him. He wanted to help people around the galaxy. He wanted to be known as the defender of the people, their protector. He wanted to fight for the people. The name just popped into his head.

Percy took in a deep breath and said, "My name is Machai Alewar." The bus driver looked to the boy ... Machai and thought 'what a strange name.'

He voiced his thoughts, "I've never heard of that before. Does it have a meaning or something?" The bus driver had taken an interest into this mysterious boy. It's not every day an earthling kid with a mask and beat up clothes just walked onto a bus. He wanted to ask what his old name was but he could tell Machai wouldn't tell him and he definitely didn't want a backstory to come with the name.

Percy ... no Machai said, "Machai is a spirit of fighting and combat and Alewar means guard of all. I want to use my skills to help protect the people of the galaxy." Yes, Machai knew that would be his plan. He would always strive to protect those who don't possess the power to do so. He would scour the universe and fight for what he believed was right.

Now, the bus driver wanted to laugh at how this little boy was going to defend the people of the galaxy but he was, however, surprised to hear true conviction in the boy's voice. When he looked into his eyes, he saw some things he would have never guessed he would see in the eyes of someone so young. They looked so sad and dead yet possess determination and strength in character. They were the eyes of a seasoned warrior who had seen many battles and lost much. He was also captivated by Machai's captivating, swirling green eyes with bright orange flecks in them. He would have to keep an eye out for any word on Machai to see if he made anything of himself.

The driver just nodded and plopped down on his seat. He clicked a few buttons and the tornado that went to the west came back and sucked them right up. After they were above the clouds, the bus driver yelled 'hang on' and the bus sped right out of Earth's atmosphere at speeds that probably broke the sound barrier, and it broke it so much so that it didn't even make a sound.

Machai immediately grabbed onto anything he could get his hands on, which happened to be a metal bar on the back of the cushion, and yelled in shock while the driver just laughed at him and said, "Rookie." After they were out of Earth's atmosphere and next to what Machai thought was Neptune, the bus slowed down and he could move again even though they were still going pretty fast.

He looked at the blue planet which reminded him of his father ... well ... former father. He wondered what his father's Roman aspect would be like and if he would have acted the same way towards him. Probably not, but who knows? However, Machai didn't want to dwell on 'what ifs' so he let his mind wander over different topics.

As the two sat quietly, Machai decided it would be smart to at least learn as much information about the galaxy since he would be clueless on what to do when he got off the bus. None of the books in Athena's library described anything remotely useful which probably made Athena crazy not to have that information. Machai chuckled to himself.

"Sooo, what's your name," Machai said trying to start a conversation. The driver slightly turned his head and raised an eyebrow. Machai just sat there looking expectant. "You want to know my name?"

Machai was plain ole confused. They were the only ones on the bus and Machai already told him his name. He wondered if it was a custom or something to not ask intergalactic bus drivers their name. Ah, who knew?

Machai said, "Of course I do. We are traveling across the universe for who knows how long ..." but was interrupted. "Exactly 3 hours and 22 minutes," the bus driver said matter of factly. Which Machai guessed was a fact.

"Anyway, we are traveling across the universe together and I think it is appropriate that we address each other by our names instead of bus driver or kid. Unless, it is like a custom or something for you to not tell me your name," Machai stated hoping he didn't break a custom rule.

The bus driver actually had a small smile on his face and inwardly chuckled at this kid. Machai was going to have a hard time fitting in at some of these planets with his personality. He looked at the boy and said, "?}{~'#$?."

Machai blinked a couple of times and just stared at him for a second hoping that was in his original language since he used his little pincers to say it, because there was no way he was going to call him that or even have the ability to pronounce it. Machai knew he was being made fun of when the bus driver smirked at him.

Machai frowned and said, "Ha ha very funny. Now, what's the English translation to that?"

The driver chuckled and said, "Cadok." He watched the boy think it over and apparently approve of his name with a nod of his head.

"That's a pretty cool name. Now then Cadok, you want to give me a three hour crash course on the entire universe!" Machai just looked at Cadok grinning from ear to ear under his mask while Cadok thought with a shake of his head, 'This is going to be a long three hour drive.' He chuckled at the end of his thought and they sped through the universe having a crash course session.

After the three hour ride was over, Machai learned about the several government structures throughout the galaxy and how Chaos, the creator of the universe, was basically the overseer of these governments. His first was that Chaos was actually still alive and well. His second surprise was that Cadok said Chaos' children disappeared a long time ago and haven't been seen since.

Of course, Machai didn't tell him about demigods or the primordials. He guessed they were kept secret for a reason and decided to keep the information to himself until he deemed it safe for word to get out. The currency layout was a little strange but Machai just rolled with it. He learned about some cool planets he would have to visit sometime too. He also traded another drachma for split cash which surprised Cadok even more that he had two.

"We're here," Cadok told Machai with a little hint of sadness in his voice. He had grown to like the kid in the past three hours and was kind of regretting his decision to bring him to this planet.

Machai looked at the approaching planet and was astonished to see it looked like the exact opposite of Earth. Whereas Earth was green and blue with plant life and water, this planet was red and brown from lava and rocks. He could see lava flares coming up in the pools of lava just like solar flares just straight instead of curvy.

Cadok docked the bus at the station. It was a little crowded but they could still find their way through the streets relatively easy. What surprised Machai the most was all the different alien species there were. They were like a rainbow of colors, arms, legs, fins, tails, ... well, pretty much everything was different about them. Machai knew he would stand out right when he stepped off this bus even though he was mostly covered with a cloak.

"Hey Cadok," Machai said a little nervously.

"Yes?" Cadok said wondering why Machai would all of the sudden get cold feet which is highly unlike him the way he sounded before.

"I won't be jumped because everybody hates the human race, right?" Machai said a little waringly. Machai believed he could hold his own against any smugglers but he would at least like to know the likelihood of that happening.

"Why exactly would we hate the human race?" Cadok was now quite curious as to why he would think that.

"I don't know. I will stand out with the crowd so I just wanted to make sure I wouldn't be jumped for being human."

"Hmm," Cadok contemplated much to Machai's horror. Cadok chuckled and said, "No, I do agree you will stand out since humans are rarely, if ever, seen anywhere but Earth. However, I don't believe regular people will jump you. The only people you should worry about are rare species collectors but they usually capture people while traveling through space rather than on a planet."

Machai let out a deep breath of relief. He said, "Umm, can you tell me why you chose a hot, lava filled planet as a place to start a new life when I'm pretty sure the world I'm used to is the exact opposite of this world." Machai didn't know why but he had a feeling he wasn't going to like his answer.

Cadok rubbed the back of his neck and said a little guiltily, "Welllll, this is a place where you can earn a good bit of cash and start a new life." He looked at Machai with a guilty smile and Machai's look at Cadok basically said 'what's the catch.'

Cadok said, "This place is known for arena fights and I thought it would be funny watching you get your butt beat. Then, after you got on I contemplated of not taking you here because you interested me but then you said you wanted to protect the people of the galaxy and I thought this would be a perfect place for you to learn how the underbelly of society works while also training to fight."

He continued, "I don't know how good you are with your sword but if you do fight you will definitely gain some experience. The fighting style outside of Earth is most likely completely different than what you're used to so this would probably be the best way to learn ... Even though I guess you do have a chance at dying by a raging lunatic." He looked at Machai with a guilty look but was surprised to Machai actually considering the situation and was actually looking like he was going to go along with it.

Machai thought about the pros and cons. Machai's mind:

Pro - learn how to fight in more ways (always useful), earn some extra cash (I do need money), and possibly find out information about the villains of society (make finding them a lot easier)

Cons - chance of death (what's new) ...

"Okay, I'm up for it," Machai said much to the surprise of Cadok. "Really!" Cadok exclaimed. "Usually people don't just go and join the fights unless their muscled brutes who think they're the best." Which is pretty much what all the fights are composed of, muscled brutes.

Machai said, "Well I can definitely say I'm no muscled brute and I know I'm nowhere near the best, but after weighing the pros and cons, I agree with you that this would be a good place to start my journey." 'Even though discussing the best course of action before we get to our destination would help,' Machai thought.

Cadok had never really had his advised headed before yet alone be accepted. He grew up at the bottom of the totem pool and no one really listened to him. He was really wishing he didn't bring the kid hear because he would rather him not die a painful death.

Machai smiled expectedly and said, "You want to lead me to the fighting arena then." Cadok was baffled at how he could be smiling when he was about to go to a fight for his life in the arena while sticking out like a sore thumb being a human. Well, now that Cadok really looked at Machai, he wouldn't be able to tell Machai was human just by looking at his appearance if he had a cloak.

"Uh," Cadok was still trying to process this boy's thinking process and it took him a second to answer. "Yeah, I can. I'll help you get signed up and ready for a fight."

Right when the bus door opened, they were hit with a heat wave. The only thing Machai didn't necessarily like was that there was a low concentration of water vapor in the air so he wouldn't be able to use his water abilities to protect himself if he should need it. Luckily, this lava planet was the personification of heat so he should be okay thanks to his mother. The actual heat itself actually felt good and Machai wished he was Hestia's son when he was in Tartarus.

Cadok gave him a cloak to put on so he wouldn't stand out as much in the crowd since the hood hid that he was from the human race, even though he did get a couple second looks which Machai didn't like at all. Cadok could tell Machai wasn't an attention seeking person even if he did something noteworthy so he wasn't surprised to see the shy look he got when people looked at him to long.

Cadok led Machai to a pub on the outskirts of town and asked Machai if he was sure he wanted to do this. It wasn't too late to back out. Machai got in a determined and quite brave looking stance that probably had a brave face under the mask and said, "I'm ready." and he walked inside closely followed by Cadok.

The smell was the first thing to hit Machai's senses and he inwardly gaged. Cadok seemed to already know it was going to smell so he steeled himself. Other than a few glances their direction, the men inside just went about their business.

Machai had no clue where he was going so he said, "Where to?" Cadok said to follow him and they walked to a door on the left side of the bar. Machai could hear the sounds of cheering and swords clashing right when he opened the door. He didn't even have a moment's hesitation going down the dark and gloom staircase much to the surprise of Cadok.

Even some of the biggest men gave a slight pause at the dark tunnel going down while also hearing the fights going on below them. However, Machai looked different in this kind of environment than on the bus. He now held an air of confidence and a 'don't mess with me unless you want to die' look that even gave Cadok a slight chill. This was a side of Machai he didn't want to see the results from and, even more importantly, didn't want to be on the receiving end.

Cadok followed closely behind and told Machai it would be best to take off the cloak now because he would get even more looks if he looked like he was hiding too much. However, Machai just said he liked the mysterious look and kept it on. At the bottom of the stairs, they walked beside each other to a man sitting at the table counting nuns, tuts, kaks, and lols.

Machai learned on his bus ride to this planet that 1 drachma = 5 lols, 1 lol = 4 kaks, 1 kak = 5 tuts, and 1 tut = 5 nuns. It seemed like a pretty good currency system and reminded him of the olden days where people used copper, silver, and gold.

Cadok came up to the man and said, "This young man would like to enter the Pits." The man behind the desk was definitely alien looking. He had dark green skin like swamp moss with teeth like a shark. His eyes were pretty much empty sockets but if one looked closely, they could the actual eyes were so black that they just looked like sockets. He had a bulky body that looked strong but not overly muscular.

The man looked at Machai and was already itching to watch him get splattered up against the wall. He was extremely small compared to the other men and they would probably enjoy beating him to a pulp.

The man said a little too friendly for Machai's liking, "Hello little one. So you want to fight in the Pit? I'm supposed to warn you that you have a very low chance to come out unscathed and a very high chance to be beaten into the ground and even die. Is that okay with you?" He wished he could see the boy's fearful face but he wore a stupid mask and cloak.

The man smiled evilly at the little boy but was slightly surprised when he nodded his head without a single ounce of fear in his posture. He would have to keep an eye on him.

Machai said, "It's nice to meet you. My name is Machai and I heard this was a good place to ..." he looked at Cadok rhetorically questioning him and said, "get a good fight while also getting paid." Machai looked at the man and saw he was amused by his confidence but he would soon see it's not just confidence Machai thought.

"Hello Machai, my name is Zade. If you would sign your name right here I could get you into a fight right away. I bet many would love to fight you." Zade again smiled evilly when he signed Machai (almost Percy but stopped himself right before he started) on the parchment and Zaid said, "Follow me and I'll see who wants to fight you."

Before Zade could get up, Machai said, "How exactly is payment gone around. I would like to know if it is worth my time to even come here." Machai said that with all the serious in the world which finally made Zade burst out laughing while Cadok looked questionable at Machai but not really surprised after riding 3 hours straight with him. Cadok was suspecting Machai would say this kind of stuff.

Zade calmed himself and said, "I like you kid. Well, you'll start with the lower of the 3 levels to warm you up. You don't look like you're from around here so it will take some getting used to. The payment itself determines how many people bet on you. As you start to make a name for yourself, then you will get paid more and more. For example, if someone bet 5 tuts for you to win and you did, then you would get 1 tut for winning. For every 10 bet on you, you add 2 more to the total amount. If 20 was bet, then you would get 8 tuts for winning. "

Machai let some of his confusion surface and said, "That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard of but whatever. As long as I get paid and not cheated out I guess it will be okay." It didn't really bother Machai that much but it did sound like a pretty confusing system that was meant to get the brutes who couldn't do math confused and allow the money collectors to gain some extra profit.

Zade chuckled to himself but also didn't like that the kid seemed to at least be able to do math. Zade wouldn't be able to cheat him out of anything if he did possibly win. Machai said goodbye and thanks to Cadok for taking him. Cadok said no problem and he would most likely watch his first match. Machai smiled and said, "Hope you enjoy it."

Machai allowed Zade to lead him through some nasty looking places to get to their destination. Machai made a couple of comments under his breath about this place needing a health inspector but apparently whatever type of alien Zade was had good hearing and laughed at what Machai said.

"We don't really care about cleanliness here. The two most important things are strength and money. Anything else is thrown out the window." Zade could tell Machai didn't like the stench and uncleanliness which would mean he probably grew up with a clean and orderly house. 'This kid won't survive the first fight,' Zade thought amusingly.

They walked down the hall until they reached an open door that lead to a humongous room filled with brutes of all sizes, weapon racks and sharpening tools, weights, and any other possible item imaginable that deals with fights. Right when they walked in the doors, everybody stopped what they were doing to look at the fight dealer. It reminded Machai of movies where someone walks in and all the burly men that are sharpening knives and pretty much just trying to look evil scrutinize you then laugh ... which is exactly what they did when they saw Machai.

The fight leader stepped forward and everybody instantly quieted down. Machai was impressed with the amount of authority he had but then remembered he dealt with all the money and the men knew that if they acted out they would get less.

Zade told the brutes, "Greetings, today we have a new fighter enlisted. His name is Machai and I told him a lot of you would love to fight him. So, are there any takers?" It was only half a second before a guy walked up to check Machai out.

He sounded genuinely curious and asked, "Why do you wear a mask?" Before Machai could answer a brute lounging on the only sofa in the room spoke up.

"Probably because his face is too ugly for others to see so he is ashamed to show."

All the men broke out into a laugh including Machai. The brute on the sofa noticed Machai laughing and stood up.

"What are you laughing at boy!" he exclaimed.

Machai just smirked at how easy it is to get him riled up, "Oh nothing, you just have a very hypocritical viewpoint." Zade chuckled a little at that but the big word left all the brutes wondering what it meant but they knew it made the fight leader laugh which probably meant it was an insult.

"What is that supposed to mean!" and yet again he yelled instead of just talking like a regular person. Machai just laughed a little before answering.

"Maybe if you had a few more brain cells than you could figure it out." Again the fight leader chuckled and was impressed at the mouth this kid had. The fighter yet again didn't know what cells meant but this statement was clearly an insult.

The brute was fuming now, "Me, you, arena in one hour and we will settle this like real men, unless, you're scared." He smirked because he knew fighting him would give that little kid a big bit of a fright but again grew angry when Machai chuckled to himself again. "Now what are you laughing at!"

Machai just looked to Zade and shook his head, "You need to teach your fighter a thing or two about speech etiquette or they are going nowhere in life." Some of the fighters stared dumbfounded at this kid as he kept throwing insults at the brute. Some of the smarter fighters couldn't hold back their laughter anymore and chuckled a little which made the brute even more pissed. Right before the brute could yell again, Machai cut him off which made even some of the brutes chuckle at the audacity of the kid.

"Yes, yes I will fight the almighty brute who appears to be the 'best' fighter of the group since he is the one on the sofa while no one challenges him on it." Zade raised an eyebrow at the kid. So he did know what kind of fight he was picking and yet still did it anyway. There must be more to this kid then meets the eye ... or he is just plain stupid which Zade doubts with what he has heard so far and how that bus driver must have believed in him to stay and watch.

Machai looked back at Zade and asked, "Could you lead me to the arena?" Before Zade could answer, the brute decided to make an even bigger fool out of himself.

"You need a guardian to protect you. That's just sad kid." He smirked as if he won a fight. But, yet again, Machai laughed. But this time, it was a full laugh that everyone clearly heard. "Man, you really have a lot of air up at the top don't ya. I need him to take me to the arena because I'm new and don't know the way to the arena. Some words of advice, next time, it may help a little to think before you speak." Machai smirked under his mask at the fuming brute and turned to Zade motioning for him to lead the way.

The two left right after and the fighters somehow held their laughs in until the brute stormed out the door to the arena. Right when he was out of earshot, the fighters burst out laughing. The topic of conversation of the brutes was how the kid had a little fun before he was killed. At the other end of the room, the smarter fighters didn't know who would win. They knew the brute was stronger but Machai was definitely smarter and was a complete unknown which means he could have no skills or many. And in a 1 on 1 match, as long as the smarter one has at least some skill, they will most likely win.


	7. A Spark of Hope

I reviewed over this chapter and I was a little disappointed at myself with my editing skills so I had to fix a good bit of errors. I didn't add or change anything in the story so if you've already read this chapter you don't have to reread it. For the people who haven't read the chapter yet, hope you enjoy it!

The five minute journey to the arena went by in relative silence with both Zade and Machai trapped in their own thoughts. Every once in a while, Zade would cast side glances at Machai trying to see any emotion to reveal how he would compete in the upcoming match. Judging by Machai's smooth walk and posture, Zade could tell Machai showed no fear facing off against the top guy in that tier. However, Zade knew looks could be very deceiving so he still had some doubts about the results of the match even if he was leaning towards Machai.

Machai just strolled along next to Zade as he thought about how the match would be and how he should fight. Machai could tell by only one look what kind of fighter that brute was so he didn't think there was even the slightest chance of him losing. However, he knew nothing of their species which meant the brute could have some special ability to put him at the top of the tier. It would also be his first fight with a being outside of Earth and there was no way of telling what kind of fighting style he would have to face. Machai would definitely have to be careful when battling with him.

A wooden double door appeared at the end of the hallway ending the short walk. It definitely wasn't anything special since it had splinters sticking out like someone threw knives at it all day long from the other side. Zade led Machai to the doors and opened them up and Machai was a little surprised with the arsenal arrayed before him. It was a weapons master's paradise. There were all kinds of weapons littering the wall in a semi-organized manner and about a fourth of them were new to him. There were all sorts of weapons to choose from ranging from knives all the way to battle worn axes. There were also many long range weapons such as slings and bow and arrows. Some weapons were in better condition than others which didn't surprise Machai.

After Zade let Machai glance around the room, he said, "Since this is your first fight, I'll allow you to choose any number of weapons. Usually I would only allow two types of weapons but I want to see how you do at your best. You can also use your own personal weapons if so wish. In about 30 minutes I will call the competitors out onto the field and you will battle it out. Once I call, you will go through those double doors into the area." Zade pointed to slightly better looking doors. "All clear?"

Machai gave a nod to him and Zade quickly left to finish up preparations for the fight to come. Zade closed the doors behind him and Machai could see why the doors looked so bad on the other side. On this side, he could tell the door was used for throwing practice for all sorts of weapons, even if they weren't meant to be thrown.

Machai perused through the weapons to see if anything interested him. He tried out a couple of swords deciding to duel wield this match. He luckily practiced all forms of fighting with every weapon he could find. So, he was at least decent with every type of weapon even though he still excelled whenever it came to swords, single or dual wield. After finding a sword that was as close to balanced as he would get, he went over to the throwing knives section and found a few knives that were in good enough condition and would at least throw straight.

After strapping on a belt with the knives and a scabbard for his new sword, he started to look at and try the new weapons he knew nothing about. After the thirty minutes was up, Machai heard Zade's voice through the doors announcing the fight between Brutus and Machai. The crowd quickly erupted into a frenzy of cheers ready for a fight filled with blood and gore. Machai rolled his eyes before striding over to the door already knowing this wasn't going to be a fight like that. Even if this Brutus guy was a skilled fighter, Machai would use his abilities to prevent himself from dying and discretely win the match, even if he didn't like the cheating method.

Machai's double doors opened at the same time the doors at the opposite side of the ring reveling Brutus with just a big, honking axe. He had no armor and basically just glared at Machai. After giving Machai a pretty pitiful sneer, he put on a superior look and stepped out into the arena. The crowd instantly cheered and some chanted his name. Brutus reveled in the cheers and threw his hands up accepting the praise.

Machai rolled his eyes and walked into the arena too. He had a pretty good idea how the crowds would react to him and it turned out exactly how he thought it would. Right when he walked out, the crowds went silent until the first laugh could be heard. That in turn opened up the flood gates and the whole audience started laughing. The crowds were pretty excited for the newcomer because they heard how he bad mouthed Brutus and embarrassed him in front of all the other fighters. However, when they saw small little Machai, they couldn't hold in their laughter. They knew without a doubt that the small fighter was about to be creamed and were looking forward to the slaughter. Machai just ignored it and waited for Zade to start the match.

While the crowd was laughing at Machai, there were a select few who had doubts on who would win. The smarter fighters who came to witness the match were having second thoughts on the outcome and Zade and Cadok were actually thinking Machai was going to win.

As Machai walked out, he heard someone shouting his name over the laughing crowd and turned around. He looked up to see Cadok smiling down at him and waving. Machai gave him a quick wave and Cadok screamed over the crowd, "I bet a whole drachma on you so you better win!" Machai just chuckled having no doubt he would win and responded, "I have no plans on dying today." With that, he turned around to face the 7'7" alien orc looking brute named Brutus. Now with plenty of light shining on him, he really did have an ugly face. Machai remembered seeing an advertisement for a game named Skyrim back on Earth and Brutus looked like an uglier version of an orc.

Brutus yelled over the still laughing crowd, "Ready to die puny rat!" Brutus was smirking at this Machai kid. He had no doubt the kid was shaking in his boots under that cloak and he would take great pleasure in tearing him to pieces and seeing what ugly face was hidden behind that mask.

Machai looked at Brutus unimpressed and said, "Do you _always_ have to yell?" The crowd was silent for half a second before the laughter switch was turned back on. However, now they were laughing at Brutus and the audacity of the kid. They had now witnessed firsthand the mouth of the new fighter and they were actually starting to like him. And if he somehow survived the match, which they seriously doubted, then they were looking forward to the next fighter that had to deal with his talk.

Brutus was furious at Machai for humiliating him in front of the crowds. He couldn't believe that the kid kept trash talking when he was about to die. Brutus growled to himself and yelled up at Zade, "Let's stop wasting time and start the match. I have better things to do than fight this midget." Machai would have pretended to be offended if he actually cared but he just stood there like nothing happened. Zade announced to the crowd, "There are no rules in this match. Let The Fight Begin!"

Brutus took out his gigantic axe and smirked at Machai. Machai, however, just rolled his eyes with the extra motion of his head so the crowd knew that he rolled his eyes. "Do you not know the basics of fighting 101? Big axe does not beat nimble fighter. You should know this if you're top dog." Once again the crowd roared with laughter and some started to see the logic in Machai's statement.

Brutus' eyes held nothing but fury as they gazed upon Machai while Machai looked upon Brutus with boredom. Luckily for Machai, Brutus was able to decipher Machai's emotion through his eyes and Brutus started to look a little constipated with the amount of fury. Before Brutus could be humiliated anymore, he charged at Machai quite similar to the Minotaur with his axe held high ready for a downward right swing that was one of the easiest attacks to predict the path allowing Machai to smoothly dodge even if he was a newbie. Right when Brutus reached him, he brought down the axe with all his strength, fueled by the anger within him wanting to crush the small kid. As the dust settled, he found that he missed and the axe was embedded half a foot in the ground. He looked around to see Machai getting up from a dive and tried to quickly get his axe out of the ground but found it wedged and it took all he could do to pull it out.

Machai slowly stood up and pretended to look a little scared at how close the axe came to hitting him even if he dodged without his life anywhere near on the line. Luckily, the crowd bought his act. Right when Machai saw such a basic attack from the brute, he really didn't want to show his true skill until he found an opponent worthy to fight him. He would slowly move up the ranks until he came across someone with at least decent skill so he could better judge the different fighting styles in the arena. When he looked in the crowd, he could see why they were buying his act. The crowd was too busy cheering their heads off to even have the slightest chance to see how much Machai was faking.

Machai finished getting up the same time as the Brutus pulled his axe from the ground. They both turned to face each other and Machai was pretty sure the fury in the brute's eyes went up another level. Machai inwardly chuckled at the brute and how easily it was to rile him up while he outwardly had a flustered body stance to not show the crowd how he really felt. However, Brutus looked past the mirth in Machai's eyes and decided that Machai's body really showed how he felt instead of his eyes. 'Oh the mistake of the dumb.' Machai thought being able to easily read what the brute was thinking.

Brutus smirked and said, "Took you long enough to get up kid." He knew he needed to get the crowds back on his side. He would not stand for them to support the small weakling in front of him.

Machai just laughed a little slightly shaking and said, "I thought you needed a little bit of time to get your big toy out the ground so I decided to take it easy." Machai fingers started to twitch with battle anticipation but had to hold it at bay. He so wanted to just whip his swords and slice the brute in half. He was not one for killing senselessly but the brute was getting on his nerves with how dumb he was. However, Brutus and the crowd took his body shaking as a sign that Machai was using jokes as a means to get away from his fear. Just like Machai wanted them to think.

Brutus smirked and charged again. Machai could tell he was going to do a side sweep attack since his axe was positioned a little lower than last time. Right when he started to swing Machai dropped to the ground with the axe swinging right over his body. Brutus then gained a triumphant looked and yelled "Got you!" and brought the axe above his head and slammed it into the earth twice as hard as last time since it went straight down using every muscle in his body instead of at an angle where he could only use his side muscles. But when the dust cleared, there was no Machai.

Right when the axe started its path down to smash his body, Machai rolled out of the way like he was caught on fire and the axe slammed down beside him causing a cloud of dust to cover about a 5 foot radius which he rolled out of and got behind the brute. He took out his two knives and waited until Brutus started to look for him when he simultaneously cut his Achilles tendons, making him fall to the ground screaming in pain.

The crowd knew Machai could have easily killed him with his back turned to him and were quiet in confusion as to why he didn't while also listening to the brute cry out in pain like a wimp.

Machai looked at Zade and said, to the surprise of everyone (except Cadok), "Do I have to kill him?" The crowd was silent trying to figure out who this new fighter was and why he wouldn't finish the kill. They were starting to see that he was actually a good-natured kid and shouldn't be in this fight.

Zade raised his hand and the crowd silenced with the whispers, "Why exactly do you not want to kill him?" Zade was really curious even though he semi saw this coming. He wanted to know the reason why this kid would bad mouth someone but yet still be kind to them and not end their life. It was definitely a foreign concept to those in the pit

Machai simply said, "He has done no wrong to me and I actually enjoyed teasing him so I guess you can say I see him as an entertainment source." The crowd semi saw his viewpoint because it was extremely funny to watch them fight. However, they could tell he was reluctant to kill unless he had to.

Zade thought about it but knew he had to make Machai kill him or the whole idea of the Pit could be thrown off balance and would leave to some choosing to knock out their opponent or something to that nature. He said in a commanding tone, "Machai, you signed up for this fight and accepted the terms. You know you must finish the job." Zade watched Machai sigh and wondered if he would even be able to kill a man.

Machai walked over the crying heap on the ground and said, "Your blood is on my hands. Sorry." And with that, he slit his throat effortlessly and the match was over. Machai didn't really feel any regret but he would have still preferred as little blood on his hands as he could. Machai turned around and walked through the double doors he came through as the crowd silently watched him leave. Most still wanting an actual fight and even more mad that they bet a huge amount on Brutus. Zade, however, was quite happy with the amount of money he earned on this fight. Pretty much anyone who bet on the new kid only bet a small amount except Cadok who paid 5 lols. Zade had a feeling Cadok knew Machai was going to win to bet that much money on someone.

Machai made his way back to the front desk to wait on Zade to get his money so he could go. He knew he couldn't stay in a place requiring him to kill every opponent even if he had the skill to. Cadok walked out of the stands and came to Machai. "You okay?" Cadok surprised himself with his worried tone but it almost felt natural when speaking to the kid. He never had a son and he grew up on the streets without a family or anyone who cared about him so he had never really heard his voice being sincere. He kind of liked it.

Machai seemed to grow on him and he was not looking forward to leaving him in a place like this if he had to kill everyone he faced. Cadok tried to brighten the mood by saying, "Thank you buy the way, I am now 5 lols richer because of you. By the way, you said lol meant something where you're from and when you said it, it sounded like you use it instead of saying funny or something."

Machai smiled and laughed a little, "Lol means laugh out loud where I come from. So if you say something funny, all people have to say is lol. It is more commonly used in text communication but it has started to become verbally used." They laughed and talked together for the next few moments until Zade came out of his stand back to the front desk. After shuffling a few papers around, he looked up at Machai and gave him a once over.

Zade looked at Machai with a calculating look and said, "That was nowhere near your skill level was it? I saw that twitch of your fingers and can tell that was in-born fighting instincts, not nervous twitches. And I would assume you made your body shake to make the crowd think you were afraid. Why were you holding back? The crowd would have loved to see your full potential." Zade could tell Machai would have slaughtered Brutus without any difficulty if he wanted to so he didn't see why Machai didn't.

"As you could tell, I don't like to kill or maim unless necessary. I understand why you made me kill him which is why I followed through. If I hadn't, the concept of the Pits would have started to deteriorate and you would have slowly started to lose control over the fighters." Zade was baffled with the spot on reply and wondered how he could possibly even guess that. Even Cadok was surprised at him.

Zade smiled his rare smile and said, "Well, thank you. Same as you, I don't like to kill unless necessary. I inherited this position from my father and while I respect him, I never hated a man's morals more." Zade gathered both of their winnings and handed them over and got thanks in return.

Zade looked at Machai and said, "I guess you're leaving aren't you?" Machai nodded his head. Zade wasn't to surprised but he was saddened to lose such an excellent fighter and wished he could have seen Machai fight at his full potential. He would have at least got all the way up to the first tier if he would have stayed. Cadok, however, was inwardly overjoyed but didn't show it. He was really starting to get attached to Machai.

Machai and Cadok said their goodbyes and thanks again before leaving and heading back to the bus. Once aboard, Cadok said, "So what do you plan to do now?" Cadok knew Machai didn't have anywhere to go so he was quite curious if he would come up with something on the spot. Cadok watched as Machai contemplated on a course of action but he sighed and said, "I have no idea."

Machai really had no clue what to do. He still didn't know anything about the universe outside of earth and he couldn't just wander around because he knew something would happen to him since everything seems to happen to him. However, he was brought out of his thoughts when he heard Cadok say, "Well, I'm going home before work tomorrow morning. You're welcome to stay the night." He watched Machai's head shoot up and looked a little confused. "You would let a stranger you just met today into your home?" Cadok just shook his head laughing to himself. He was surprised that he was actually okay with Machai sleeping in his home and actually felt that he could trust him. Survival instincts be dammed.

"Machai, I have watched and listened to you for the past 8 hours and I feel like I know who you are better than I felt I've known anyone before. I trust you which is why I am inviting you into my home. You look tired like you haven't slept in a long time and I can see sadness in your eyes. You need a good rest in a safe place to get your spirits back up so you can think of a plan of action. After you have a good night's rest and a hearty breakfast, you can think of the path you want to take." Machai stared at Cadok in surprise until he got up and hugged him.

Cadok stood there for a second trying to comprehend that someone was hugging him and should probably hug back. However, the hug ended as quickly as it came much to his disappointment. When Cadok looked into Machai's eyes, he now saw a little spark and twinkle in them that he hadn't seen before. He could now see hope in his eyes and he felt a little bit of pride knowing he was the one to put that hope there.

Machai snapped Cadok out of his gaze when he said, "Thank you. I would greatly appreciate your hospitality." With both of them smiling, Cadok walked over to the driver's seat while Machai followed to sit in the front row. After pushing a few buttons and pulling a few levers, they set off to Cadok's house. They rode in blissful silence for about 30 minutes on the way to Cadok's house

Little did they know that they were being followed.


	8. Start of a Long Journey

Here's another chapter! By the way, all the pictures or videos I post are not mine no matter how bad I wish to be able to draw like that.

When they arrived at Cadok's house, Machai was surprised at how similar it was to those identical houses you see in communities. They were lined up side by side and each house was given about 3 acres of land in a square shape. The houses were pushed to the back away from the street with a garden before each of them and a smooth stone walkway leading to the street. There were some hovering cars in some of the driveways but most Machai guessed were in the closed garages.

Cadok parked the bus on the landing pad beside the building and they both got off heading towards the house. The houses looked similar to Earth houses structurally wise. However, the color scheme was so vibrant and mixed with many different colors that made it perfectly clear that it was not Earth paint, if it was paint at all. It shimmered in the upcoming sunset and even had a sparkly hue to it. It also looked like the paint was swirling around each other with the setting sun making the houses an incredible sight to see. Of course, Cadok was used to this so he just kept walking while Machai followed in a daze with his mind being overloaded with all the colors that almost pleasantly blinded his eyes.

Cadok opened the door for Machai and said, "Welcome to my home." If Machai could say the outside looked slightly similar earth houses, then the inside just went and gave away it that the house was from another planet. Their technology was like Earth but fast forwarded 500 years or something. There were holographic images everywhere with each screen showing a different topic such as weather or xacta, which is apparently a sport played with two balls that aren't supposed to touch the ground but can only sometimes hover and ... Machai lost track after that with the boatload of new information.

While Machai walked around, he was so transfixed on some of the screens that he didn't see something approaching him. The next thing he knew, a solid mass pounced on his leg making Machai jump ten feet in the air with a shout of surprise. He was relieved it was at least a manly shout. After jumping away from whatever pounced on him, he saw a robotic dog wagging its metal tail. Still near the door was Cadok who was hunched over laughing at Machai. Machai playfully scowled at Cadok but of course the mask blocked his facial expression. However, Cadok could tell what lay hidden under the mask making him laugh a little harder. Machai soon joined Cadok and chuckled to himself. He bent down low to pet the robotic dog unsure if it had sensors or anything for it to enjoy being petted.

After petting the dog which seemed to enjoy being petted, Machai wandered around the living room to see if any other cool things could be found. There wasn't any that stood out among other things except a necklace on the mantle of the fireplace. He made his way over to it and it actually looked pretty cool. It had a silver chain with intricate designs on the individual beads and a pendant at the end. The pendant was pretty amazing on its own. It had a grey background with a gold laurel wreath around the edges. Inside had red pincers that reminded Machai of the pincers on Cadok. In the middle inside the pincers contained one major white star with 10 other navy blue stars around it. It was a pretty impressive pendant that almost looked like royalty.

Cadok came over knowing what Machai was looking at. He too looked at it for a second a little longingly. "That necklace is a family heirloom. I grew up in an orphanage and on the streets so I didn't have many possessions. However, ever since I was little, I have always had that necklace. The matron of the orphanage said that the woman who gave me to them said that it was a family heirloom. So, I have kept it ever since." Cadok looked over the intricate designs wishing his mother actually kept him. However, he believed she had a legitimate reason to leave him in the orphanage, but, alas, he would most likely never find out.

Cadok went to into the kitchen and pulled out some packages that reminded Machai of space food ... He really hoped he wouldn't have to eat dried up food. Luckily, Cadok placed them into a microwave device and they slowly started to rise. After the ding, Cadok opened the packages and inside lay some type of hamburger with a red patty and green lettuce that looked semi-appetizing. Cadok took out two plates and served one for Machai and one for himself. Machai wished he could just summon his own food but he didn't want to reveal himself. At least not yet.

After their late dinner, Cadok showed Machai to the guest bedroom across the hall from his own. Machai walked inside and it surprised him to be actually quite roomy. He wondered what a wealthy person's house would look like if Cadok's was this size. He walked over to the bed looking at all the other furniture in the room. There was a brownish, greyish wood dresser along a wall with a light green framed mirror above it. The teal paint on the walls actually complemented the light green making it catch his eyes. There were two bookshelves on different walls with one filled with books and the other with books and strange mechanical items. There was also a desk and chair on the opposite side of the bed. All in all, it was a nice room and Machai felt grateful.

Machai turned around to look at Cadok who was leaning on the door frame and said, "I really appreciate what you're doing." He looked back around the room and sighed happily. "It's been a while since I had a solid roof over my head to sleep under." Machai's attention returned to the bed missing Cadok's changed facial expression.

Cadok was about to say it was no big deal before Machai added that second part. At first he was a little stunned with the sudden declaration, but he soon looked about Machai with a sad smile. He thought about his own life and having to basically live off the streets and fend for himself. He rarely ever had a roof over his head so he knew exactly what it was like to be offered a roof to sleep under. He also knew what it was like to be so young and have to deal with the streets. Judging by Machai's voice, he would put him to be around his late teens or early twenties and nobody should have to deal with those problems at that age.

Cadok's sad smile turned into a determined smile. He would make sure Machai had a place to get his bearings straight and not have to worry about a place to live while he finds work. He would take care of him and provide to the best of his ability. He would also have to teach Machai everything he needed to know about the universe since he's from Earth. Cadok switched to a pleased smile as Machai turned around. "It's no problem. Make yourself at home. The bathroom is down the hall to the left and my room is right across from yours should you need anything. I don't think I have any clothes that will fit you so we can go shopping tomorrow to buy you clothes and anything else you may need."

Machai was a little shocked at the 'make yourself at home' part but quickly recovered. "Thank you again." He gave a big yawn. "And I really appreciate all the help you've given me." The bed beside Machai was looking comfier and comfier and Machai soon found himself climbing on the bed just to see if it felt like clouds because it sure looked like it. However, right when Machai's head hit the pillow, he was out like a rock.

Cadok quietly chuckled and strode his way over to the bed. He debated if he should remove the cloak and mask to make sleeping more comfortable but quickly dismissed the idea. There was a reason Machai was wearing the mask and it was Machai's right to choose when to remove it. Cadok didn't want to lose the growing trust with such a simple mistake. He did, however, remove his swords strapped to his waist and the knives across his chest. As he watched over the sleeping figure, he got lost in thought wondering if Machai would actually like to stay with him. Cadok didn't have anybody else living with him and he didn't really invite many people over. They could have a nice, quiet life together with just the two of them. That's what Machai wanted right? A new home and a new start. But who would want to live with an intergalactic bus driver? He frowned at the thought. But, for some reason, when Cadok told Machai he was an intergalactic bus driver, he didn't look disapproving like everybody else. In fact, he actually looked intrigued.

Hope sprung in Cadok's chest at the prospect of Machai choosing to live with him. He could become Machai's guardian and ... He paused his train of thought. It would just be like a father and son. He never knew his father or mother and wished he had one his entire life. Cadok could be that figure in Machai's life if Machai wanted him to be. He leaned down and pushed some of Machai's hair sticking out from under his hood off his mask and wished him goodnight.

Cadok silently left the room and shut the door leaving only a crack. He slowly made his way into his bedroom and quickly changed into his night clothes and laid down on his bed. He got lost in thought thinking about what the future could hold and the mysteries of life that can change at a moment's notice. He fell asleep dreaming up a life where Machai and him were sitting on a couch in the living room watching TV as a father and son.

An alarm by Cadok's head went off and jerked Cadok awake. He looked on his dresser and saw that it was the alarm signaling someone was at the front door. He looked at his alarm clock and saw it was only 2:00 A.M. ' _Who the heck knocks at 2:00!'_ Cadok thought. He got out of bed grumbling about stupid people and put on a T-shirt. His mood didn't improve much as he slowly made his way to the door.

He looked at the screen showing who was outside the door and saw a man standing there on his V-Pad. He didn't really look like a salesperson, but if he was ... Cadok didn't stay on that train of thought. He opened the door enough for the man to see most of Cadok's body but not inside and looked at the man standing there. He had a cloak like Machai's without the hood draw up showing off his pale complexion and midnight black hair. He had a defined chin and cheekbones and he smiled at Cadok. However, when Cadok looked into his eyes, he saw a flicker of something that told him not to let his guard down.

The man looked at his V-Pad, then back at him and said, "We are looked for a guy named Machai. He was last seen at the Pits and we have been looking for him. We would like to offer him a once in a lifetime deal." Cadok was suspicious of this man but didn't give any recognition in his facial features because anything related to the Pits usually wasn't a good sign. Cadok said, "Sorry, I don't recognize the name. What did he do?" The man was still smiling at him and it started to unnerve him.

The man said, "That is classified information." Cadok narrowed his eyes and grew a little frustrated. "Sorry, you must have the wrong hou ..." All of the sudden, he was pulled from behind and let out a loud shout to hopefully wake up Machai. The guy from the door punched him in the gut and the guy who grabbed him held a knife to his throat right as Machai sprinted out of his room.

"There you are," one of the men said. "We've been looking to pay you back for killing our leader."

Cadok looked at Machai's stiff but confused posture and knew that he didn't kill the man. Also, there was only a small amount of time Cadok wasn't with Machai. And add to the fact that he was reluctant to kill the brute at the Pits. All in all, Cadok was 99.9% sure Machai was innocent. Machai asked, "And who was your leader?" The men snarled and said, "Stop playing dumb! You killed him just several hours ago!" Realization struck the two. Machai regained his wits and said, "I had no choice on the matter and I was forced to kill him. If you watched the match, you would have seen I was reluctant to finish the job. Please, just let him go and we can find some way to deal with this situation."

Cadok knew there was no way out of this situation for him. These men were born and bred to kill and they enjoyed doing it. Cadok told Machai, "Machai, there is no reasoning with them! Just run ..." The knife was pushed tighter against his throat stopping him from speaking. All it took was for the knife to move an inch one way and he would be dead man.

Machai looked distraught with his hands semi outstretched in a pleading way, "Please, take me instead. Just let him go." Cadok took a moment to process that. Machai was willing to give up his life for his. No one had ever even remotely come close to doing that. It was always a struggle to gather food and you had to fight for every piece of bread you could salvage. But this young man he met not even a day ago was willing to risk his life for him.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when the man holding the knife said, "Actually, I think it would be better if we just killed both of you." And with that Cadok felt the cold, steel blade slice through his throat and he fell to the ground clutching his neck. It was quiet for a second until the man spoke, "Now, you don't even have a weapon so you might as well come and ..." the man stopped speaking, and moving in general, to Cadok's confusion. He slightly tilted his head to look at Machai.

All he saw through blurry vision was Machai's clenched fists at his side and rigid posture of anger and sadness. The next thing he heard was the screams of the men before they started to shrivel up and their bones crushed until two bodies, if you can still call them that, were on the floor. Cadok had no idea Machai was capable of such power but it didn't matter. He was about to die and he was at least happy to spend his last moments with Machai.

Reality quickly came back to Machai full force and he sprinted over to Cadok who lay in a pool of blood. "No, no, no, no, please don't die!" It was useless to say that but Machai couldn't really think straight. Machai tried to slow the blood flow but it was just gushing out. He thought about using his powers but the cut was too deep and if he used water to freeze over the wound, Cadok would just die from internal problems. He also knew deep down that Cadok already lost too much blood. Cadok croaked, "Machai, listen to me." Once he was sure he had Machai's full attention, he spoke again. "I've ... never cared ... for someone ... more than you." Machai was crying just as hard as when he was betrayed back at camp.

Machai told Cadok through his tears, "You're not going to die. Don't make it sound like you are." But there was desperation and hopelessness in his voice. He knew deep down Cadok wasn't going to make it and a pit started to upon up inside him.

Cadok spoke up, "Will you be my son?" There was a second of silence as Machai stared at Cadok, stunned by the question. A hole in his chest that he didn't know was there ached a little when thinking about having a father. He was still saddened about his father's betrayal but pushed that back down. Machai quickly recovered from his shock and said with an emotion he hasn't felt in many years, "I would love to, father." Cadok smiled through the pain and cried tears of joy that Machai would have stayed with him. They would have had a good life together. Even though he knew he would not be able to be there for Machai, he knew Machai would make something of himself in the future. He remembered what Machai's goal was when he first met him and knew Machai would be able to accomplish it. It would be a tough road but if anybody could do it, his son could.

Cadok smiled even on the precipice of death, "My son ... live for ... me ... fulfill your ... dream of saving ... the people ... of the galaxy ... help ... and care ... for others ... do this ... for me ... and I will ... be the happiest ... father ... in the ... gal ... ax ..." Cadok's life slowly left his eyes and Machai cradled his father's head not caring about the blood pooling all around him. He just got a father and now was losing him just as quick as he got him.

"Please don't leave me ... dad," he pleaded. "... Dad ..." whispering in the end hoping Cadok would come back to him. Machai couldn't let Cadok die. The hole in his chest that revealed itself just moments ago remained open and more noticeable than ever. Machai sat there for hours holding his father and cursing the Fates for making his life so hard and unforgiving. He lost track of time until his dad's alarm clock went off in his room snapping Machai out of his daze.

He gently set his father down and turned off the alarm clock which said 6:00 A.M. He knew he couldn't bury his father outside because the neighbors would most likely freak out and call whatever the galaxy had for police. He had to leave him here until someone came and gave him a proper burial. He didn't want to leave his dad just lying there waiting for someone to come to his house but Machai couldn't let anybody know he had been there.

He knelt by his father and stroked some of his hair off his forehead. His father ... He had a father again. A father who loved him even though they only knew each other for a short period of time. Machai said with a dead but loving voice, "I will live for you father, I swear I will help the people of the galaxy ... and ..." He couldn't stop the tears from coming. "I swear I will ... help and care ... for others. I will make sure you are the proudest father in the galaxy." He took a minute to compose himself and to steel his resolve. He would make his father proud no matter what it took.

He knew he couldn't stay much longer unless either the galaxy cops find him or reinforcements come. He quickly grabbed his gear (apparently Zade forgot to ask for his weapons back) and found a backpack to put food, all the money he could find, and other smaller necessities in it. He also went into the living room to retrieve the necklace. He may not be officially in Cadok's family but Machai was positive Cadok would like him to have it instead of whoever gets to the house first. He put it around his neck and tucked it inside his shirt to keep it close to his heart. He would always keep it with him just like Cadok always keep it with him.

He made his way outside to the bus and found a map with all the different planets and solar systems to help him on his journey through the universe. He knew he shouldn't risk mist traveling to planets he'd never been to but he needed to lay low. And considering he met his father using the Starway Jeros, he didn't want to use any other form of transportation. He also didn't want to get anyone involved ... ever again. He couldn't grow attached knowing that sooner or later their death would come to pass.

Machai needed to train more so he could protect the people he cared about. He wanted people to be able to trust him with their lives without the fear of dying. He wanted to become the strongest he could be, not for himself, but for others. He would fight to protect them no matter what it took.

After condensing the map and stuffing it into his filled to the brim backpack, Machai walked out onto the back porch and took one last look at the house. The small amount of memories that he had of Cadok surfaced and he knew he would treasure them forever. "Goodbye father."

Machai died that day and Omega was born. The end to all evil to carry out his father's last wish. To protect the people of the galaxy from anything like the separation of father and son. Omega would bring light and hope for the people wherever he goes and destroy the darkness that hides in every corner.

With that, Omega mist traveled to the planet Zaref. An uninhabited planet split into four sections: ocean and islands, grasslands and forests, lava fields and burnt wastelands, and mountains and ravines. The perfect place to perfect his abilities and become the guardian of the galaxy.


	9. Training to be a Badass

For Omega's first try at mist traveling through space, he thought he did pretty well. He studied the planet on the map and focused on the spot above the water terrain so he could just fall in the water. He didn't want to try and mist travel near the surface in case he found himself tumbling down a mountain or landing in a burning field of lava. He would prefer neither of those.

When he opened his eyes after mist traveling, he found himself about 300 feet above the ocean, quickly descending to the vast waters. As he was falling, he looked around to see if anything stood out. Omega could tell it was around mid-morning which gave him plenty of light to see two small blotches of land along the horizon, one north and the other southeast judging by the suns' position. The ocean below him was between a dark and light blue color with the suns shining on it adding a shimmering quality to it. He flipped around in the air to look at the sky and deep space. He assumed the atmosphere on this planet was different because the sky was black instead of blue with bright stars spaced out across the pitch black sky even though it was day. There was a dark yellow sun right next to a light yellow one heating up the planet just right, both standing out from the dark sky.

He flipped back around to see he was only 50 feet above the water and two seconds later, he got into a swimmer's dive position before breaking the surface. His momentum took him about 30 feet under the water until he pulled up, stopping his descent into the dark depths. Omega looked around to see if he could find any marine life but wasn't too surprised that there wasn't any. This far out in the ocean would hold life that prefers colder, deeper waters than the warmer surface water. He then stretched out his senses to see if he could at least feel if there was any marine life and was relieved to feel some type of moving organism about 3 miles down. He would have to explore the dark depths later.

He swam back up to the surface and froze an ice surface for him to stand on and look for one of the islands he saw. After climbing up and seeing one, he mist traveled over to it. He landed on the white, sandy beaches of the island. There were a few trees that resembled palm trees but had the leaves branching out all along the trunk instead of just at the top. They also had an orange fruit that didn't look half bad. But he knew not to eat mysterious foods from another planet. There was no telling what it could do!

After exploring the island, he didn't find anything noteworthy other than a few crustaceans at the water's edge. He laughed when he saw some of the crabs because they looked exactly like Sebastian from The Little Mermaid, one of his top 3 movies. He looked back towards the horizon but didn't see any other land mass. Omega frowned hoping he didn't land in the middle of the ocean territory because it would take forever to get to one of the other terrains. He just shook his head and starting mist traveling in one direction. He would pass a few islands every once in a while and would use them as a pit stop. Omega had never had to do so much mist traveling before so it wore him out. The most pressing reason as to why he would stop was because his body felt like it was getting lighter. He assumed that turning his body into mist, back into a body, and mist again right after solidifying left his body a little confused on whether it should be solid or gaseous. Luckily, it was morning judging back the position of the suns so he had plenty of time to rest.

It was afternoon when he finally saw a large stretch of land along the horizon. It wasn't mountainous so it could either be the grasslands or the lava field. He guessed the grasslands since there wasn't any orange glow radiating off the land. He mist traveled onto the land and it turned out to be the grasslands. Even though he read that there were vast areas of grasslands, he was still surprised that it was just as vast as the ocean. He looked around and couldn't see any trees on the horizon but he could see moving shapes a couple of miles inland.

Since he came here to train, he decided that he shouldn't be lazy and mist travel everywhere so he jogged over to the blotches to see what they were. 30 minutes later, he finally got close enough to see what animals were grazing on the land. Omega would have to say that the closest thing they resembled were bulls with a cow's body. The head had 4 horns sticking out at all angles and its face was stocky just like a bulls. It had a strong neck leading down to a cow's body. There was even an udder under its body just located more towards the front than back in between its hind legs. Its whip like tail had 5 inch hairs on the end but Omega could tell that it wasn't hair when it glinted in the sunlight. They were spikes! Omega just shook his head and walked towards it to see if it would get aggressive. Omega had faced worse than a cow with a spiked tail.

As he made his way towards it, the bull/cow hybrid slowly raised his head assessing Omega. Omega just calmly and slowly walked towards the ... he's just going to call it a bullow ... and carefully extended a hand stopping a foot away from it. Omega had no idea if the thing had teeth or not and he would prefer not to find out in the wrong way. The bullow slowly clopped his way over to Omega and assessed him again for any possible danger. Omega held still while it felt extremely weird to be judged by the animal and wondered if it had increased intelligence or something. He wouldn't be surprised with how it's looking at him. After seeing the bullow's eyes apparently approve of him, Omega slowly extended his hand all the way and petted the bullow on his cheekbone. He started to scratch it as it calmed down after being touched probably for the first time. Soon, it starting to make a purring sound just like a cat and he brought up his other hand to scratch both cheeks.

After petting the bullow for about 10 minutes while also looking around the surrounding area, he started jogging off to the east towards the tree line. The trees reminded him of a mix between cypress trees with their larger bottom and pine trees with their bark and needles. They even had pine cones on them that looked exactly the same as Earth pine cones. Omega jogged through the forest for the rest of the day and set up camp for the night. He hardened the water vapor around him to make a tent and had a quick meal before falling asleep.

He woke up at the crack of dawn with the sun shining through the tops of the trees and the ice tent magnifying the rays of sunshine right into his eyes. He got up grumbling, summoned a quick meal and stretched his sore muscles before continuing on his journey to hopefully come across another terrain. It took about 5 hours of jogging, walking, and breaks to finally see some mountains up ahead and a soft orange glow to the right of them of them. It took another 45 minutes for him to finally reach the crossroads of the different terrains.

The map wasn't kidding when it showed them split with 4 distinct terrains. There was literally a line going off in each direction separating the sections. The grasslands just stopped and sunk down into the dark depths of the ocean on one side and the other instantly started to incline to form a very steep mountain. Then, the mountain had a very steep decline going towards the lava field and right where the line was it instantly turned into molten rock. Omega didn't know how that was even possible but he decided not to really think too hard about it because he probably wouldn't be able to explain it.

Omega stood at the center of all four terrains and sat down where different parts of his body was in the separate terrains. It was a very unique experience. He could feel the soothing heat sinking into his body on his left, back side, cool sea breeze on his right, back side, the smell of freshly cut grass on his right, front side, and a rocky, dirt smell on his left, front side. Omega sat there for thirty minutes just enjoying the feeling while also thinking about his next step. He came here to train so he needed to get started right away and come up with some plans.

He first thought about the three basic needs of survival: food, water, and shelter. He had the food part covered thanks to his mother and he could even kill some bullows to see if they would taste like cow or not. Water was easy because he could simply liquefy the water vapor around him or drink the water from the ocean since the salt wouldn't affect him. The shelter part was the only one that he had to actually think about. He decided that he wanted to build a wood house in the lava terrain then coat it in a thin layer of ice to keep the wood from burning. It would also serve as a training exercise since he would always have to focus to keep the ice from melting lest he lose the house. In addition, he wouldn't have to worry about temperature problems because the lava outside provided plenty of heat and he could freeze some ice inside the house to make it a perfect temperature.

Next, he thought about his training regime. In the ocean terrain, he would meditate on an island and clear his mind to be able to focus. He would stretch his limits by lifting as much as the ocean's water as he could and also as high as he could. It started out that he could lift water about half a mile long, 200 feet down at least 10 feet high and keep it there for about a minute. After 4 years of practice, he could focus and lift the water a mile long, 800 feet down at least 40 feet high for about an hour while also preventing the water around the area from filling in the hole.

In the grasslands terrain, he practiced on focusing on the water vapor in the air and water in the grass and ground. He also practiced his flame powers here. He would focus the fire around the grass without the fire actually burning the grass. At the end of 4 years, he could feel the water vapor for miles on end and could thicken it without it being noticeable so he could tell where everything was without his eyes. He could also focus the fire around each blade of grass without it burning for about 100 feet and coat water around each individual blade of glass for about 200 feet in about a minute.

The mountainous terrain was used to enhance his physical capabilities and his power over earthquakes. Every day, he would jog up and down the steep mountain paths while also creating many small fractures with his earthquakes stretching them out as far as he could. After four years he was able to make a whole mountain crumble with his earthquakes and could concentrate on an area and shake the ground creating a tremor and a deep fracture if he wanted to. It would instantly make his opponent lose balance and almost guaranteed for them to fall down.

The lava terrain was used as his breathing and water manipulation area. Since there was so little water vapor in the air, he had to concentrate twice as hard to form a shape and hold it. He was glad for Hestia's blessing because the dry air would have made it hard to breathe which would have been a challenge all on its own. After 4 years, he could quickly gather water in the air and make a water horse run across the lava fields without evaporating while still keeping the ice on his house from melting. After a while, he turned his water horse into a unicorn and worked on his details. He could definitely become an ice sculptor if he needed money.

He also practiced his other skills and abilities. He could create exquisite home cooked meals that tasted like heaven on a plate. Omega quickly got spoiled on his meals and didn't eat any more than the one bullow he killed. He claimed he wanted to save the animals but he knew he just loved his own meals so much that he didn't want anything else. He also did his own weapons training with his two swords and knives. If it was even possible, Omega improved with his sword skills and he could hit a target 60 feet away with a throwing knife dead center while also running and jumping. He may have also killed a few bullows that way by scaring them so he could have a moving target ... it may have contradicted with his earlier belief.

All in all, he enjoyed his life of solitude. It allowed him to think over his past experiences and come to peace about certain events. All his life, he never spent time to just sit down and think about all the events that have occurred ever since he became a demigod. Since the beginning, he was constantly completing quest after quest leading up to the titan war. After that, he was constantly busy rebuilding and getting everything in order. Then, he was kidnapped and had his memory stolen. After he finally got his memory back, he basically had to lead everybody through the giant war and defeat Gaea herself! And after that, he had to once again rebuild the camps and, this time, unite them and keep them in order. And when it finally looked like it was going to calm down and he could have a normal life for at least a couple months, everybody in camp turned against him and pretty much kicked him out of camp ... He was extremely lucky to have Hestia adopt him because there would be no telling where he would be today without her. After the four years and a few natural disasters caused by Omega's emotions, he was at peace with his past and had complete control over his emotions. He could chose to show what emotions he wanted others to see without them being any the wiser.

One question that was always on Omega's mind when he first arrived on Zaref was why there wasn't any people living on the planet when it was pretty much paradise. He could see some remains of small huts like someone tried to settle but left without completing the project. He could tell it must have been a long time ago because the ruins were completely weathered leaving only bits and pieces behind. However, after a month, Omega found out why.

He was in the grasslands concentrating on the water around him when the wind started to pick up. He took it as just a gust of wind in the beginning but it never slowed down. It actually did the opposite. Now, most people would open their eyes and look around but Omega decided this would be a good time to test what he had learned.

He solidified the water vapor around him and let it get carried by the wind. He started to notice a swirling, circular pattern and it clicked as to what was about to happen. Next thing he knew, six gigantic tornadoes touched the ground around him. He quickly mist traveled out of the grasslands before anything could hit him or pick him up off the ground. He watched from the ocean terrain in awe at the amount of tornadoes in the grasslands. There had to be at least 50 cyclones gliding over the land. Omega wondered why there weren't any animals on the pasture in the morning but now he could tell that the animals must have sensed the tornadoes coming and went to a safe area. The tornadoes traveled around the entire grasslands the rest of the afternoon and let up at sunset.

The next morning Omega postponed the morning training session and went to check out the damage. He was dumbstruck that he couldn't even tell hundreds of tornadoes just came through. Only a few leaves and needles could be found around the area and the trees looked the exact same as the day before. He stretched out his senses to the water in the tree roots and it made sense how the trees weren't uprooted. The tree had both thick fibrous roots and a gigantic taproot.

After a year, another disaster occurred. At least, it would have been if he wasn't a former son of Poseidon. He was on one of the islands meditating when he sensed the waves starting to get restless. He stretched his senses far out and saw a tsunami coming, consuming all the islands in its path. Omega liked his island and assigned himself another challenge: protect his island. He created a water dome around the half a mile long island and solidified it. He got into his most solid stance and waited for the true test to come. Once the tsunami came, it took a lot of effort for him to hold up the dome with the pounding strength of the tsunami beating on it and trying to break through. After 2 minutes of the constant barrage of attacks, the tsunami finally passed the island and headed off into the horizon.

After another year, which Omega was starting to see a pattern, he was in the mountainous terrain walking along the edge of the only volcano in this terrain. It was at the edge of the mountainous terrain so the lava could run down the right side into the lava terrain. He could feel the heat coming off the lava pooled inside and it filled him up with warmth, reminding him of Hestia's hug. He really did miss her and wished he could go visit her but he had a job to do and Omega knew she wouldn't want him to stop just to visit her. He knew he would see her again one day since they were both immortal, he just had to be patient and look forward to their reunion. He was broken out of his thoughts when he could feel a slight tremor off in the distance. He just shrugged and shook it off as probably an aftershock of one of his earthquakes.

After about a minute, the shaking became more violent and it started to shake the volcano. Omega knew he should probably mist out just to be safe but he was knocked back to his senses when a tremendous tremor coursed through the volcano knocking him inside. He tried to mist travel out or gather water around him but he was too close to the lava and there was no water in the air. He knew fire didn't affect him but he didn't know if lava would harm him or not with Hestia's blessing. He didn't want to find out.

Omega's life flashed before his eyes and he felt guilty that he wouldn't be able to fulfill his father's wishes. _'Wait!'_ Omega thought. He swore to his father that he would become the savior of the people and that was what he planned to do no matter what the cost.

He steeled himself for the pain he was about to feel but not because of the lava getting closer and closer. He concentrated on the water inside him and he pulled the water up to stop his descent ... Pain ... That was all he felt as he lifted himself back out of the volcano onto the ground below where he mist traveled to the ocean.

He sat 10 feet underwater panting while the cool ocean water helped soothe his nerves and heal his aching body. Now he knew what it really felt like to be controlled like that and he definitely would only use it on people who deserved it. It felt like his innards were being twisted and smashed together while his skin was being ripped apart. He guessed the sweat glands in his body pushing up was what made his skin feel like that and the water pressed against his innards would make them feel mushed together. All in all, it wasn't a pleasurable experience and he would prefer not to have to do that again. Once he felt better, he mist traveled over to the lava terrain and tested how lava proof he was.

The last disaster he encountered before leaving the planet happened in the lava terrain where a flash flood of lava occurred burning anything it touched. Luckily his house was higher up than the lava level so his house wasn't burned. However, he did have to focus twice as hard to prevent the ice from melting.

After 4 years on Zaref, Omega was the personification of power. He never felt stronger after the arduous years of training and practicing. All he had to do was will his powers to action and they would obey him flawlessly. His physical body also improved and he had to give himself props on how good he looked. He still had a swimmers body but he was definitely more toned than before and he definitely had more muscle mass.

He mist traveled back to his house to gather up his few belongings. He brought out his map and started looking over the different planets to see which one he wanted to visit first. He was officially going to start looking for the evil lords who abuse their power and cause harm to the people. He would first target the planets with overlords on them and get rid of them in a stealthy manner. After however long that took, he would then work on getting the deficient rulers to step down or help someone who would be an exceptional ruler gain support. He needed to first listen to the rumor mill to find out where those people were and then the fun would begin.

Hey Guys! I hope you're liking the story so far and if you have any comments or questions feel free to ask away.

Bad News: My college exams are coming up so I will be studying extra hard for the next week and a half. Accordingly, my writing speed will slow down and I may actually not be able to post. Hopefully it won't come to that and I will try to get a chapter or two in but no promises.

Once again, thanks for reading and I'll talk to ya next chapter!


	10. The Rise of the Savior

As time went by, a rumor of an assassin spread throughout the universe. The assassin would somehow gain entrance into the most impenetrable fortresses and slay the lords and emperors within. No one ever caught a glimpse or even a sound before the deed was done. Some say he was a master of the shadows while others just don't believe that one assassin could possibly gain entry to that many castles and only kill the lord. When the first evil emperor died, the people rejoiced and didn't think much about who killed him except for wanting to thank him. They believed the assassin spent many long years working his way up the enemy's ranks to be able to get close enough to attack.

When the second killing happened a year later, the people still rejoiced and didn't think much about the killing since the other killing was many light-years away. However, when the third killing came just 9 months later, the people rejoiced but grew suspicious. It was unheard of for 3 major emperors or lords to be assassinated. In turn, they decided to look closer into the deaths. They weren't able to recover the first assassinated emperor because the people burned his body before anybody could get a good look. The second emperor's body was retrieved by his own men before the task force could acquire it thus leaving no evidence.

The third body, however, was quickly retrieved by the task force. They examined how the man was killed and were surprised to just see one clean, knife wound in the center of his forehead which instantly killed him. What surprised them even more was a weird symbol they had never seen before that went around the knife wound. Two opposite ends came together but instead of connecting in a straight line, they are connected by a wide arch that loops around the knife wound, Ω. They had never seen the symbol before so they didn't know if it meant anything or not. So, they just put it down for the assassin claiming his victims and decided to keep an eye out for any more of its killings.

Over the next 50 years, many depraved lords and vile emperors were popping up dead in their own office. Some of the captured guards would say that they only left the office for 5 minutes and when they came back, the emperor would just be leaning back on his chair with a knife wound to the head. Even the guards positioned outside the door said they never saw anybody enter. After hearing this, the task force knew they were out of their league and sent a report all the way to the top.

Over the next 50 years, Omega found out that there were a surprisingly large amount of evil doers in the universe. He guessed that the universe was quite big so it would probably house many naughty people. So, he decided that he would kill one every year. He could have probably killed more but he liked to live a life and explore the planets he was going to save too. One thing he found himself lazy to do was keep track of the people he killed. So, he decided to mark his victims with his name's symbol. He would allow the people to document his kills and if he ever needed them, he could easily get the information from a newscast or something.

He saw that after every one of his killings, the task force of the universe would talk about a mysterious assassin killing off the evil lords in the different galaxies and only leaving the Omega mark to show it was him. He would always laugh when they would say they didn't have any leads on who it was or where he came from. Omega would always chuckle and think, ' _of course not because it's hard to get any lead on a person when they never leave any evidence._ '

Omega came back to the present and found himself sneaking through an emperor's base on the planet Jerfu. He heard of a rumor saying an evil tyrant who killed anybody who opposed him and also anyone he deemed useless. He forced anyone who wasn't a politician into slavery and made them work long hours each day doing their craft. The guards always walked by with a whip on their belt to use if they saw the slightest mistake or showed any sign of weariness. Omega really didn't like this ruler.

He stealthily walked down the halls and past guards so quietly that there was never a sound made. Just like always, the guards were oblivious of the assassin prowling the halls getting closer and closer to his target. Omega stopped at the edge of a walkway and peeked around the corner. He saw two guards outside a very nice looking door with ornate carvings and exquisite designs. They had their weapons out and scanning the hall for any possible signs of danger. Omega had to give them credit for their effort. Many guards he found guarding their lord were relaxed or just stood their unprepared so if Omega wasn't able to just mist travel into the room, he could have easily killed them. Omega thought about fighting them to see how much of a challenge they were but he didn't want to kill them since they are doing such a good job. Even though it would never be good enough against him.

Omega thickened the water inside the room and saw the lord sitting behind his desk working on some of his papers. Omega smirked at his carelessness to not have anyone else inside the room when every kill he had done left no evidence of breaking and entering which would require getting past the guards at the door. He just shook his head and slowly turned his body to mist to reform in the emperor's room.

Right when he solidified in the room, he knew something was wrong or even possibly a trap. He could sense someone watching him. It wasn't a feeling like someone was staring at your back. No, it was like some powerful being was looking down at you and could see every single muscle moved. Omega stood in the room unmoving, waiting to see if the being would just flash in or something.

While deep in his thoughts, the emperor exclaimed, "Who are you to just appear in my presence!? Unless you're Chaos giving advice then leave." Omega sat there for a second trying to figure out who this being was when the emperor's words hit home. Chaos was watching him! That was the only really powerful being he knew that had connections outside of Earth. Omega just stood there waiting to see if Chaos was coming to come get him or even kill him for some reason. He had never met him so he had no clue as to what he would want to do with Omega ... and somebody trying to kill him wouldn't be a first.

Omega's silent treatment had an unintended effect on the emperor and he shifted nervously. Omega inwardly laughed at how he wasn't even trying to intimidate this guy but just had a natural fearsome presence. He did look intimidating once he thought about it. The midnight black cloak with orange and sea grim trim covering his whole body and half his face while a mask with the same midnight black color with orange and sea green swirls covered the other half. If the emperor could see under the cloak, he probably would be even more intimidated with his muscular body wrapped in tight black T-shirt and pants. Also, the knives going across his chest and the two swords at his waist made him look even deadlier.

Omega darkly chuckled and inwardly laughed again when the emperor shivered. Omega spoke in an adult tone since he had a guest, "My name is Omega and I'll let you guess why I am here." Omega still stood there looking directly into the emperor's eyes making sure his deadly intent was shone.

The emperor who say the deadly intent spoke up with a little fear in his voice, "Are you the one who has killed all the other lords?" Omega just nodded his head and laughed at how the lord paled. He became even more amused when the lord tried to hide the fear from his face while his eyes still betrayed him.

The emperor tried to sound confident when he yelled, "We'll you're in for a surprise. I'm one of the best fighters in the galaxy. You can't ..." Omega decided to end his speech short with a throwing knife to his head because he didn't want to hear the speech of how 'I'm the greatest fighter in the galaxy' ... 'you can't touch me' ... or his personal favorite, which really shows how dumb most of them are, 'do you know who I am!?' Ahh, crazy emperors.

Omega walked over to the emperor to quickly carve the Omega symbol on his forehead to claim his kill. Right when he finished, he instantly mist traveled away as soon as he could. He would prefer not to meet with the most powerful being to ever exist when he could possibly be defying him. Omega didn't know all the laws concerning space travel and killing evil lords so he decided to just postpone or even nullify any meeting between them. Even though he probably shouldn't piss off the most powerful being in the universe. However, Omega couldn't stop a chuckle from escaping him when he thought about how frustrated Chaos would be at having missed him.

After getting serious again, Omega decided it was time for a break so people wouldn't be on the constant lookout for him and the word of the 'amazing' Savior would die down. He also hoped Chaos wouldn't try and track him down. Omega didn't know how he would do it but he wasn't the most powerful being to ever exist without a reason.

While Omega contemplated at how he should lie low, he determined that it would be best if he just didn't make his name any bigger. Only Chaos knew what he looked like so he could still walk around anywhere he liked without someone recognizing him. It was highly doubtful for Chaos to just look at random places in the universe and somehow spot him. However, knowing Omega, it would most likely happen. He decided that instead of hunting vile emperors, he would hunt for cool artifacts or unbeatable monsters to test his skills. He would also just enjoy traveling around the universe learning the different ways of unique cultures and experiencing the beauty of individual worlds.

He mist traveled to the planet, Vinesta, so people wouldn't be able to find his house. It was a planet basically only composed of forests and jungles. Few people lived on the planet because only certain areas were livable. This was due to the lack of food and water in most of the regions and also the dense foliage in the jungle areas.

After a month of building his new house in the center of the jungle portion of the world, he wanted to start a collection of unique objects and acquire some new gear since all he had was the beat up weapons from the Pits and his old celestial bronze/imperial gold sword. He pulled out his map from his backpack and spread it along one of the walls in his house. After making some ice pebbles to hold it up on the wall, he examined the different planets he could visit to start looking for rumors of powerful objects.

~~~Before Jerfu~~~

Somewhere on the first planet ever created, Chaos looked down at his map showing the many different planets that he ruled over. Everyone once in a while his position got irritating at all the trivial matters he had to do. For example, every month he would hold an open platform day so people could come to him with their problems and ask for him to fix them. He started that to help the people but it got annoying with all the petty problems the people came to him carrying. Almost all of the problems could be fixed if they talked to the people responsible for their sector but no. They wanted to talk with Chaos.

Chaos sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly. He has had to deal with stuff like that for many, many years. However, every once in a while something exciting comes up that catches his interest. This new mysterious Savior was a perfect example. No one knew who he was or even where he came from. Chaos chuckled to himself when the task force first came to him asking for help. He told them to wait ten years and if they still couldn't catch him or even get a lead, he would help them. Now, 50 years later, even Chaos couldn't figure out who this mysterious Savior was. It's like he just came out of nowhere and disappeared right when he was finished with his business. Sometimes Chaos wished he could just disappear like that.

So, for the 40 years of the Savior hunt, Chaos' interest in this challenging case grew more and more until he spent most of his time trying to figure out who this person was or just finding him in general. His attacks on the lords didn't have any pattern so it was rather difficult to figure out who it would attack next. The only few patterns it did stick to was that it killed one lord every year, always with a knife wound to his head, and a carved symbol that looked familiar to Chaos but he couldn't place it.

His focus went back to the map spread on the table. He had a couple of lords he expected to be attacked so he was keeping an eye on them. Whenever it turned night on the planet, he would secretly watch the rooms without revealing his presence. One thing he was glad about was that this Savior only killed the immoral lords. If the Savior decided to turn its skill on the people or the good side in general ... let's just say that Chaos would probably go a little crazy trying to find the evil doer before it could cause more havoc. Luckily, it was on the good side for now and it would hopefully stay on it.

One good laugh Chaos always got when an emperor was killed was when his spies that he sent to kill the emperor came back having a fit saying they were so close to killing him even if they were at least ten years from even getting a chance to strike. The Savior definitely livened up Chaos' life and he gladly accepted this new challenge with open arms.

Chaos' attention quickly snapped to a planet named Jerfu when he felt a presence start to appear. He was confused at how a presence could start to appear but not fully appear. It reminded him of himself flashing around. At first, he would send his presence somewhere and then his body would form where his presence was sent. However, this presence forming in the lord's room was slow like it was forming a new body. He quickly forgot about the other planets he was watching and focused solely on Jerfu.

What he saw confused him a little, the air was shimmering in the middle of the room. What happened next shocked both the lord in the room and Chaos. Chaos watched as a body started to form out of thin air with a cloak wrapped its body and a mask across its face. Chaos was also shocked at the amount of power he could feel coming off it. Not many beings in the universe could contain that much power. There were a few planets that contained powerful beings or races but certainly not this powerful. Now he was definitely curious as to who was under that mask.

Chaos' attention was brought back to the room when the lord exclaimed, "Who are you to just appear in my presence!?" Chaos just rolled his eyes. "Unless you're Chaos giving advice then leave!" Chaos just chuckled thinking what he would have done to the emperor if he disrespected him like that. Even though he couldn't directly interfere, he would have still made his life twice as hard.

Chaos was impressed with how the being didn't even twitch in anger at the very idiotic lord. He even chuckled when he saw the lord shivered under the being's silent treatment. The being spoke in an adult male, smooth but stern tone, "My name is Omega and I'll let you guess why I am here." It then clicked for Chaos. He knew he recognized that symbol! It was the Greek symbol Omega, the last letter of the alphabet. However, it didn't make sense to him. The only planet to ever use that letter was Earth but no one there knew about anything outside their own galaxy. He would have to check the records again to make sure no one left.

Chaos wasn't too surprised to hear a little, poorly hidden fear in the emperor's voice. "Are you the supposed Savior of the people who has killed all the other lords?" Chaos could tell that he tried to sound uninterested but fear is a hard emotion to hide. Chaos just watched as a nod of Omega's head caused the emperor to pale before mustering up enough courage to speak again.

"Well you're in for a surprise! I'm ..." Chaos lost interest already knowing the basics of what was being shouted so he just watched Omega to see what he would do. When the emperor was about to say 'you can't touch me,' a knife all the sudden appeared in Omega's hand and quickly sailed through the air to pierce its target in the center of its head. Chaos blinked a couple of times surprised by the speed of the throw. Not many could move that fast.

Chaos watched Omega stroll over to the now dead emperor to claim his knife and carve the Omega symbol on his head. He was even more surprised when the blood just sprang off the knife. He guessed it was enchanted or something so he didn't put much stock into it. Chaos was about to flash in the office to finally meet this mysterious Savior when all of the sudden Omega just disappeared.

He quickly flashed in the room keeping his aura pent up as to not alert the guards outside the room of his presence. He went over to where Omega disappeared and tried to find out where he flashed off to. He was even more surprised that he couldn't determine where Omega went. That would mean he used some other means to get from place to place. Chaos was furious at how Omega was the first being to ever slip out of his grasp. However, his furiousness quickly turned into a chuckle. It had been a long while since Chaos had ever had a challenge like this and he would gladly play the game.

So, his first step was to make sure he wasn't from Earth because no human should have ever found out about outside their galaxy. He flashed into Athena's library and went over the list that would tell him if anybody left. He quickly looked it over and was relieved no one was on it. The gods have had to kept track if someone just left Earth since the beginning of man. Which meant that someone from another galaxy decided to visit Earth. And he must have come from a powerful race to be able to flash around everywhere. Unless, of course, it was an item. However, items can usually only take you to somewhere you've been before and Chaos didn't think Omega had ever been in the office.

He turned his attention to Omega's form. He wasn't able to see any distinctive features but he could still cancel out certain races. Omega had two arms and legs and was 5'9". That would mean any race with more than two limbs, solely above 6 foot or below 5 foot were crossed off the list. However, that still left half the universe for him to look through. Also, cross-breeding could have come into play since Omega was extremely powerful which could have actually made his crossed off list invalid.

Chaos let out a long sigh thinking how hard it was going to be figure him out. He had searched for him for 40 years and he just now caught him. And since Omega just left all of the sudden, it was quite possible that Omega knew someone was watching him which could make Chaos' job a whole lot harder. ' _Oh well! What's the fun in life without a challenge?_ ' Chaos thought. He pulled his focus back onto the map to find out where Omega's next attack could be and decided it was about time he put some more spies on the case. Chaos was going to catch Omega one way or another. Chaos smirked, it would only take time.


	11. Descent into Darkness

Putting away his assassin life for the time being, Omega started searching for rare and powerful artifacts. He was pretty open minded so he would go after anything that caught his eye. However, what he really was searching for were two swords to replace his current ones. After 2 years of going from pub to pub listening to different rumors that mostly lead to false trails, Omega heard of a powerful sword that was supposedly on the planet Danar. The planet was known to be comprised of complete darkness without a single ray of light and also one of the most deadly planets because not many visit and return unharmed.

The sword itself was called the dark sword and was one of a pair with the light sword being its polar opposite. 'Whoever created these names didn't think very hard,' Omega thought. The legend of the two swords went on about a being of light and a being of dark that fought against each other for control over a galaxy. Each side was equipped with their respective sword and the commander of each army were experts with them. The armies fought for years and were evenly matched which lead to useless bloodshed with only the commanders left standing. The legend said they fought for hours until they were both dead lying next to each other. No one knows where the swords went or who took them so they think dark beings took the dark sword and light beings took the light sword. However, the people in the pub didn't really care about the light sword so Omega wasn't able to narrow down its location.

After the two years of searching, Omega spent another year making his way over to Danar to finally start his search. The planet was located on the far reaches of the plotted universe so it took the whole year just to travel there. Omega was a mix between surprised and not so surprised when he heard the entire universe hasn't been plotted. Surprised because he didn't know there was a line saying people should only cross at their own risk and not surprised because the universe is infinite.

When Danar finally came into his sights, or felt it since Omega couldn't see anything, he mist traveled onto the planet. The rumors really weren't kidding when they said the planet was complete darkness without a single glimmer of light. He couldn't even see outlines of anything around him. Omega really didn't want to step forward into the darkness because there was no telling what he would step on ... or in. Nonetheless, after steeling his nerves, he took a step forward and instantly sank a foot into the ground. He tried to stop himself but wasn't able to get any purchase until he hit the bottom.

He stood still for a second not knowing what he stepped into until he felt his pants and coat soaking up water and he recognized the texture of the ground he stepped into. He landed right in the middle of a swamp! Omega was at least happy it wasn't quicksand or something that could possibly pull him under the ground. After coming back to his thoughts, he concentrated on the water around him and thickened the water in the air to give him sight without light. He 'looked' around and saw there were a few trees here and there sprouting up from the swampy waters that looked gnarled and dead with spiky limbs jutting out from their sides. There was also slime like moss hanging off the branches which Omega decided he'd rather not know about.

After a quick shiver of imagining the texture of the moss, he trudged through the swamp not liking sinking with every step. He didn't know exactly which direction he was going but for some reason he had a strong feeling to head in a certain direction. Since he didn't have any other idea on where to go, he decided he might as well follow the mysterious feeling. About 30 minutes of cursing the swamp and its sinkhole like mud, he face palmed and froze the top layer of water. He stepped on top and continued down his icy path grumbling about how dense he was sometimes and hoped he could find something of interest.

Every once in a while, Omega would push out his senses for miles looking for anything other than the swamp terrain but it seemed like it just kept going and going. So far, he also had only felt plant life around him without any signs of intelligent beings and wondered why the planet was known to be deadly. He hadn't encountered anything yet but he guessed that didn't mean there wasn't anything on this planet that could possibly threaten him. So, he stayed alert.

After deciding it would be nighttime in a world with light, he found a relatively dry spot to set up camp. Omega came prepared for a long trip with purified water to use if anything came up, a tent, compass (that he found out didn't work on Danar), and some other essentials. He also wondered if the swamp had regular flood cycles so after setting up the tent, he froze water around it to prevent any water from leaking inside. The tent itself was pretty small with it being a 5X7X4 triangular shaped tent which he bought early on in his assassin days.

The frozen water around the tent was also meant for protection from anything that decided it wanted to find out what was inside the tent. Omega still hadn't sensed any beings but he didn't want to let down his guard and it be the last thing he did. He slept for about 7 hours without any disturbances which Omega was pleasantly surprised since something other than plant life must live on the planet. It seemed like a perfect habitat for anything that didn't have or require vision.

He continued his trek through the swamp lands for two weeks until he came upon solid land with a dense forest. After traveling through the forest for three weeks, he didn't know which terrain was better. The swamp stank with all the algae in the water and on the trees but the forest's trees were tightly compacted together so Omega had to weave his way through. After a while he got sick of it and made ice stairs above the trees and then continued to make an ice trail above the treetops. Then he could say he liked the forest terrain better.

As he went along with his journey following the weird feeling, it grew more and more noticeable. After another week through the forest terrain, he came upon a dilapidated manor, of course, without lights. Omega could feel strange waves of energy around the manor and wondered what was inside that could possible give off the aura. He hoped it was the dark sword but doubted it. It wasn't like Omega to get lucky and find the sword within 6 weeks of arriving.

As he got closer to the manor, he started to hear strange noises that sound like whispers in another language. Intrigued and hopeful that he found some type of being, he quickly got down from his ice pathway and headed towards the manor. As he got closer to the door and thickened the water in the room, he could tell whatever creatures were in there were looking at him through the window. The outline of the figures ranged from small and skinny to tall and large. Each one had pointy ears like an elf but had a goblin shaped head. The males had bumps all over them and females had recessions in their skin which was quite strange to Omega. However, he didn't want to give it much thought.

Before opening the door, he could see some small circular glows in the window that looked like eyes. He wondered if the glow in the creatures' eyes allowed them to see in the dark or something which was probably the case if they could live on Danar. After shrugging, he opened the manor door and he could see and feel all the eyes trained on him. Their stances didn't seem threatening but they were tense. Tense ready for a fight or a quick flee Omega didn't know. So, he just closed the manor door and confidently strode over to the counter to sit down on one the stools not by one of the troll creatures.

Soon, the whispers started again and Omega had a pretty good idea about what they were talking about ... or rather who. Omega watched the barman attentively as he slowly made his way over to Omega. He spoke in a language Omega had never heard of before. It was probably the species language since it was similar to all the other voices in the manor/pub. Omega looked into the eyes of the goblin creature and asked in his regular voice not even trying to pretend older, "Do you speak English?"

The whispers immediately stopped and Omega could feel the eyes on him again. He looked behind him to give the impression that he saw with his eyes and assessed the crowd. They still weren't in a threatening stance so he looked back to the bartender and waited for an answer. The goblin said in a gruff voice, "I asked, what would you like?" The whispers still hadn't picked up yet which worried Omega a little. However, as long as the creatures didn't do anything, Omega wouldn't worry about it.

Omega said, "I'm just passing through. However, information would be nice. I came to this planet looking to find the dark sword ..." Omega saw the goblin sport a grotesque smile at the dark sword part but Omega kept going. "... and I was wondering if you happened to have any information on where it could be?" Omega also saw the smiles on the other goblins faces so they must enjoy sending people after the dark sword which probably meant there was a high chance of death.

The goblin chuckled and said, "Yes, I know the location of the sword. However, are you prepared for the trials before the sword? Are you willing to risk your life for the sword?" Omega could feel the other goblins slowly get out of their chairs and pulling out weapons without making even the slightest sound. Omega had to give it to them that he wouldn't have known they were getting up if he didn't use his mist vision. They were stealthy buggers but Omega wasn't known as one of the most deadly assassins in the universe without reason.

Omega preferred not to fight the creatures already knowing he could kill all of them without breaking a sweat judging by how they were holding their weapons, so Omega came up with another idea. "Yes I am willing. However I know I won't die. But before you tell me I have a question. I don't know what kind of creatures you are but would you tell me how you react to light?" The goblin bartender had a wary look and said, "Why are you asking?" Omega could still see the goblins getting closer and he smiled. "You don't have to answer the question. I'll just find out since you plan to stab me in the back."

Omega lifted his right hand off the table with his elbow propped up and pointed at the ceiling. A steady, half foot flame shot out of his finger spreading light all across the area. Instantly, the goblins cried out and covered their eyes while backing away from the light. Omega smirked at their attempts to block out the light but since they probably hadn't been near any source of light in a long while, their eyes probably would have taken at least ten minutes to finally adjust.

Omega focused back on the bar tender and saw him cowering on the ground behind the counter. His skin was coal black and his shark like teeth were surprisingly white. Omega said in an uninterested tone, "I guess light affects you pretty good. I would be willing to put it out for information on the dark sword. What do you say?" Omega finished in a sickly sweet voice like caused shivers to go down the goblins' bodies. The goblin frantically said, "Yes! Yes! Just put the light out!" Omega chuckled and slowly dimmed the light until it went out, allowing the darkness to once again claim the room. It took a minute for the goblins to fully recover and Omega waited patiently sitting in the stool with his back leaning against the counter, whistling a soft tune like he was taking a stroll through the park.

After the goblins put their weapons away and returned to their seats, the bar man recovered and said, "The door all the way to the left. Go through and down the stairwell at the end of the hall. Knock on the door three times, wait two seconds, knock two times, wait one second, and knock one more time. You'll hear one lock click but don't touch the door yet. Wait ten seconds, knock once, then wait for the second lock to unlock. Wait 30 more seconds and the third lock will unlock. Then, you may open the door and find your way to the dark sword. Word of warning, no one who had entered that door had ever come out for the past 62 centuries. Are you sure you wish to die down there?" Omega looked the barman dead in the eye and the barman took in a sharp breath of air.

The barman saw that those weren't regular eyes. Those were the eyes of a person who had seen everything. Love, hate, kindness, cruelty, generosity, selfishness, sacrifices, betrayal, war, death, life, new beginnings, tragic ends, and everything else that could take lifetimes to see. However, the goblin heard how young the boy's voice was and wondered what he had to go through to see all the world's attributes. His respect for the boy rose to new levels and the goblin smiled. "I wish you the best of luck."

Omega nodded and went through the door to the left and followed his instructions. All the other goblins who didn't understand English wondered why they heard respect in the bar tender's tone and were even more confused when he smiled at the back of Omega. Not a malicious smile but a 'good luck' smile. The bartender watched Omega go through the door knowing that he could get to the sword. The only question was would he be able to wield it?

Omega went down a square, spiral staircase for at least 5 minutes. After the first minute, he got bored and started counting his steps. An odd thing he found was that two sides had 5 steps, one side had 6 steps, and another had 7 steps. He paused to think about it. Omega was going to assume north was facing towards the manor. Then, when he was going south there were two extra steps and when going east there was one extra step. It was almost like it wanted to take him out from below the manor. He just shrugged it off and continued walking. He knew he would figure it out when the time came so why worry now?

When he reached the bottom facing east, he walked forward a few steps until there was a door facing north. There weren't any windows to see what was on the other side and there weren't any cracks for him to push water through. Omega took a deep breath and took out his demigod sword in case something charged him when he opened the door. He highly assumed something would charge at him and scare the crap out of him so he froze ice armor on him to at least take most of the damage if whatever was inside got through his defenses. Omega reached for the knob and got into a ready position. He grabbed it, twisted and took another deep breath before yanking it open with a loud creak and quickly sending more water vapor inside.

Omega waited there for a second and saw nothing coming at him. He still stood there thinking, 'well that was anticlimactic.' He thickened more vapor in the air to see the entire room ... or should he say very large cave that housed an exact replica of the manor. The cave was above 50 feet tall and 100 feet wide with the manor smack dab in the middle with a large gated entrance before the manor. He slowly walked to the gate still prepared for an ambush attack from possible underground enemies. He might have used earthquake vibrations to see if anything was underground if he was on the surface but he didn't want to accidently cause aftershocks that have the potential to cave in the roof right on top of him.

He reached the gate with no disturbances which started to make him feel like what was inside was going to really get him. He sent water vapor inside the gate and this time saw many things moving ... or limping. Most of them looked like those goblin creatures just more sickly while some of the others looked more humanoid. They were just walking around the courtyard limping around like zombies. Maybe that was what they were.

Omega opened up the gates with a loud 'CREAK' and all the ... Omega was just going to call them limpers ... limpers stopped and turned towards him. Omega instantly became wary and stood still seeing what they would do. The ones closest to him started to slowly make their way over to him while the ones farther back just kept wondering around. When the first one came close enough, a quick movement of his wrist and its head went flying off and landed with a thud. This, however, attracted more limpers even though it wasn't a loud sound. He saw the headless body fall to the ground secreting some type of liquid that might have been the goblins blood. 'Maybe that was what was attracting them.'

Omega's conclusion proved to be correct when more gradually started to make their way over to him even though he didn't make a sound. Omega calmly took out his other sword and decided might as well slice and dice his way through. And that was what he did. Around 100 limpers later, he stood in front of the big wooden door that exactly resembled the manor door above ground. He was about to open up the door again when he felt one of the limpers get up near the gate entrance. Then two, then three, then etc. Omega quickly realized that they wouldn't stay dead so he opened up the door and shut it behind him, freezing the edges of the door to prevent them from coming in.

The inside was the exact same with a bar area straight ahead and tables and chairs spread out around the room. There were two doors on the opposite sides of the room leading to the different wings of the manor. However, one thing that was different was the tiles floor instead of the wooden planks. Also, there were small holes in the wall filled with projectiles. He really loved his mist vision that could fit into every nook and cranny. He assumed the tile floor triggered the trap so he cautiously stepped on the first tile ... Nothing ... He again took another step which lead to the same result. He slowly made his way to the bar counter but only made it halfway to all hell broke loose.

Omega felt the tile under his foot sink down under his weight and he only had one thought before he heard that click signaling the trap was triggered, "Oh SH ..." He instantly coated his body in ice and condensed and layered it many times hoping it would be enough to prevent the projectiles from piercing it. The room instantly filled with flying arrow/dart looking projectiles. Many hit his ice armor and embedded themselves at least 3 inches before they stopped. After a minute of the constant firing, Omega melted his ice armor returning it into the mist so he could see again. The holes in the wall were empty and the former occupants were now strung all over the ground with most around Omega.

Omega had no idea where the dark sword could be located so he decided to take the right side this time and see where it led him. Two hours later and after fighting off more advanced limpers that actually had some skill and triggering/dodging traps, he went to the left side since the dark sword was not on the right. Three hours later and fighting even more advanced limpers that have obviously been trained a very good bit, he made his way down a spiral staircase to a door that was slightly ajar. When he neared it, he could feel the dark aura that must be leaking off the dark sword and it sent shivers down his back at the amount of power it contained. Omega turned serious knowing the last challenge would be in this room.

He pushed open the door and thickened the water vapor in the air. What he saw confused him and actually instilled a little fear in him. There was the dark sword sitting on a stand in the middle of the room that could easily be picked up. That alone would make anyone cautious. However, there was a limper with a long beard sitting crisscross-applesauce behind it on a slightly raised platform so the sword didn't block his view. Now, it wasn't because he was frightened of getting hurt that made him wary. No, it was that old people usually used knowledge against you and asked riddles. Omega hated riddles.

Omega stared at the limper waiting for it to say something but realized it must be waiting on him for something. He slowly walked towards the dark sword and got 5 feet away when the limper spoke. The limper warned, "He who wishes to obtain the dark sword beware of its power. If you wield it, you may be consumed and forever want more power for yourself. But if power is not what you seek or have no wish to fight, then the sword will reject you and remain unwieldable. The commander who wielded this sword before was consumed by its power. Try at your own risk."

Omega waited a few seconds to see if it would say anything else before he walked up to the sword. Omega contemplated for half a second before he remembered the commitment he made. He wanted power to protect his friends. This would meet the requirement of wanting power and Omega guessed the sword like to be used to fight. He would definitely fight many battles ahead and knowing him, some major ones too. Omega took a deep breath before reaching over and grabbing the sword.

Right when he made contact, he felt a rush into his mind searching through all his memories. He didn't even think to let go and if he had tried he would have found out he couldn't. He could feel it searching through every single nook and cranny of his mind looking to see if it deemed Omega worthy of wielding it. The experience was borderline painful and it was definitely intrusive making it extremely uncomfortable. The shock of it also didn't help the experience. Apparently, it was satisfied with what it saw when he felt it leave his mind and he could pick up the sword.

Right when it left his mind, he could feel the power flowing through the sword. It was definitely the darkest aura he had ever felt but it also felt kind of like his own aura just only concentrating on the negative emotions he had. Like all the anger, hate, depression, loss, etc. People would think someone would instantly throw away a sword like that but it was somewhat comforting when Omega thought about it. It was almost like the sword understood all those emotions that many have never felt and can't hope to understand. He could also feel the sword wanting revenge against anyone who hurt its wielder but Omega didn't let those emotions overcome him. He took heart the warning he was given and pushed away any new desires.

He stood there for an hour coming to terms with the new feeling and when he came back to himself, he felt better than before. It was like he understood himself a little more. He didn't necessarily feel complete but closer than he was before. On Zaref, he felt like he came to terms with his past but now he felt like he got even closer. He could feel that he was one step away from fully feeling complete but didn't know what that step could be. He shrugged to himself having the same mindset as before thinking he would figure it out when the time came.

Right before leaving the room, the limper spoke up, "It seems it has accepted you. Go, wreak havoc on the battlefield and show your power with the sword. But be careful to not let it overwhelm you." With that, the limper sat as still as stone like it hadn't moved in centuries.

Omega made his way back through the manor. Of course, the limpers were back among the living and preceded in coming towards him. Omega decided he might as well test out his new sword and adjusted his stance ready to play. However, right when the limpers sensed the aura of the dark sword, they shied away to the edges of the hall completely out of Omega's way. Omega was a little disappointed but guessed it was like completing a dungeon in a game. It makes sure that you can't turn back until the dungeon is completely cleated. Then the way back is opened up with easy access.

Omega calmly walked back through the manor twirling his new sword while whistling a merry tune that reverberated of the walls and not commonly found in a pitch black manor crawling with dead creatures. However, Omega didn't care one bit and enjoying his stroll through the desolate manner. He made his way past the horde of limpers in the courtyard before shutting the gate. He hiked back up the stairs to the manor above the ground ready to leave the place and be able to see with his own eyes.

Before opening the staircase door, Omega made an ice scabbard that he attached to his back to hold the dark sword. He was surprised to feel the aura of the dark sword being dampened by the ice and it gave him a great idea for the future. He opened the door and strolled through the hallway back into the bar. Right when he opened the door, all eyes were on him. The bartender had a knowing smile on his face while the other goblins were flabbergasted to say the least. They must have not expected Omega to have even a remote chance.

Omega calmly strode over to the barman. "Thanks for the information. It was a great help." After a slight bow of thanks, Omega calmly walked out the doors into the forest. After making sure he was out of sight and nothing else was around him, he mist traveled back to his home on Vinesta. He was surprised that three years ago he built this house. Time seemed to fly by really fast now that he was immortal. He would now be around 79 years old since he left Earth at 22, spent four years on Zaref, another 50 becoming the Savior, and three retrieving the dark sword.

Now that he acquired the dark sword, he knew his next task was to find the light sword. Before starting his search, he went to an armorer and had him create a dual sword scabbard that attached to his back to hold the dark sword and soon to be light sword. Of course, Omega told the armorer the dimensions of the sword instead of letting him see it because Omega knew that the sword's dark aura would push away most people. After retrieving the scabbard and making sure the sword fitted, he froze ice around it to hide the dark aura coming off it so people wouldn't find out he had the sword. After making sure the ice trick actually worked, he set off in search of his next find ... the light sword.


	12. Diplomacy is Boring Anyway

After leaving Danar, Omega decided to start looking for the light sword on the opposite side of the universe thinking the two swords wouldn't be close together. It seemed he made the right decision. As he got farther and farther away from Danar, he started to hear more and more rumors of the light sword. He still hung around pubs to get information but he also spied on some events and get-togethers for some rumors.

After two years of searching, he finally found a solid rumor about a powerful sword that gave off its own light located in the fairy kingdom of Lyrin. Omega just shook his head that he didn't think to look in a fairy kingdom for the light sword since fairies are known for being some of the lightest beings out there. He also didn't think lightest was a word when not talking about weight but he rolled with it.

It took another year to reach the planet and Omega thought about how similar it the time frame was when he was searching for the dark sword. After coming back from that random thought, Omega sat on Lyrin's moon with his ice mask holding 10 minutes of air and studied the fairy planet. The planet was about half the size of Earth and one way to describe it was to think of the total opposite of Danar. Whereas Danar had no light, Lyrin had no shadows. After he finished studying the planet, he had a general idea of where the sword would be located. There was a tiny blotch on the planet that probably meant a major city was located there. And since Omega didn't see any other tiny blotches, he guessed the sword would be at the most heavily guard place, the capital. After crossing out a few other ideas he had, he mist traveled onto the planet.

Omega landed on the ground under the dense foliage of the trees and gave himself a pat on the back. It was his first time getting a perfect landing without needing to regain his balance. He was close on Danar and he blamed the mushy land for slightly losing his balance. Omega looked around the open area and was amazed at the beauty. The trees themselves were made out of vines with leaves located all over the tree. The vine trees created a canopy that allowed some sunlight to come through adding to the already magnificent beauty. There were so many floating lights going around that darkness couldn't hide anywhere. However, the trees were what really held Omega's attention. He would definitely have to get some seeds so he could plant some by his house.

Omega spread out his senses to see which direction the city was so he could begin his journey. It was a short walk of 30 minutes until he reached the bustling village of the fairies. He stayed just out of sight as he studied the layout of the village. The buildings were mostly two stories with some above and below two and each one had about 3 feet space in between the next building. The fairies themselves looked exactly like angles just with fairy wings. The adults were around 6'8" with long wavy hair that slightly shimmered, entrancing anybody whose sight lingered too long. Their faces were the epitome of royal features with their sharp noses and high cheekbones. Their lips were just the right amount of plump and their eyes held many shades of the same color. One elf had eyes ranging from light green all the way to forest green while another had light purple all the way to deep magenta.

Their bodies were graceful, yet strong and sturdy, yet flexible and their skin were different shades of color. Tattoos swirled and sparkled along their bodies mesmerizing Omega for a second until he shook his head. Their wings reminded him of a Luna moth's wings just without any fuzziness to them and their ears were slightly spiked at the top. After coming to the conclusion that Omega probably would have a tough ... _cough_ impossible ... time blending in, he also took into account the possible weapons they held.

Almost all the fairies had a flute strapped onto them which could easily entrance Omega if they had magic. The guards located sporadically around the village had a sword strapped along their waist and other weapons such as small daggers or bow and arrows. Their armor was most likely created by one of the best blacksmiths in the universe because Omega would have to say the armor matched the elves' beauty perfectly. The armor also must have been individually made for the wearer because the vibrant colors swirling around their armor matched their eyes and skin color. At a quick glance, the guards would have looked to be relaxed and not wary of any danger whatsoever. However, Omega's practiced eyes picked up the little signs of someone ready to spring into action.

After he finished looking around, he started to stealthily make his way through the village by mist traveling into the different alleyways without being seen. Usually he would just walk with the rest of the crowd but he couldn't see any other race other than the fairies. Which would mean Omega wouldn't get ten feet without a confrontation that would probably lead to violence. So, stealth mission initiated.

Omega assumed the light sword would be located in the castle behind many traps and tests waiting for someone worthy to retrieve it so he made his way to the center. He passed many interesting shops with cool looking items that Omega was quite curious as to what they did. The food selection was also extravagant and had brightly colored fruits galore. He also only heard the fairies talk in a language that Omega guessed was their native language and he hoped at least someone could speak English if he needed to talk to them ... or talk his way out of a fight. It took around an hour to finally reach the castle and surprisingly, no one spotted him. Even though there were a few close calls.

The castle itself was made of white stone that had a marble like texture. There was gold trimming along the edges of doors and gates and silver knobs and stubs decorating them. At the front gates there were two guards that didn't look like they were going to let anyone inside. A few fairies came close but they would always turn to the left or right before reaching the guards so Omega didn't know if they would open the gate up at all. There weren't any guards on the top of the walls, however, which made Omega wonder if this place held such a treasured item if they didn't keep a constant lookout in every nook and cranny.

Omega just shrugged and thought it made it easier for him so he just went along with it. Now, Omega wasn't a pure born thief so he wouldn't just go inside and take the sword without at least asking the king ... Even if it would probably be much easier. Sometimes Omega cursed his kinder nature. Omega sighed and thickened the water vapor inside the gates to see where the best place to mist travel to would be. It revealed an open courtyard with a gorgeous garden that filled the entire area except for the slim, cobble paths that branched out across the area. He only saw a lone female figure tending the garden. Just by her exterior, he could tell she was beautiful even among fairy standards and wondered if she was a princess or something.

Omega mist traveled inside the gates behind a tree to get visual representation of her. Right when he laid eyes on her, he was enraptured by her beauty and wondered how any being could be so perfect. She had silky brown, waist-length hair that flowed in the soft, warm breeze only adding to her beauty. Her hair reminded Omega of recently tilled, nutrient rich topsoil on one of the farms he visited which grew the best tasting kigos in the galaxy (the fruit instantly became his favorite). She had a greenish tint to her skin and sparkles surrounding her magenta eyes. Her facial features and figure were even more defined than the other fairies which could only mean she was royalty which would also explain the silver tiara on her head.

As Omega studied her, he didn't take into account the possible abilities she may possess and he guessed she had some sort of detection powers when she stopped what she was doing and looked towards the tree. Omega quickly hugged the tree with his back and didn't make a sound hoping he may have just accidently made a noise instead of abilities. Ohhh who was he kidding? If he didn't want to make a sound, he didn't make a sound.

The fairy brought him out of his thoughts when she said, "You can come out. I won't hurt you." Omega thought about just walking out and saying hello but then remembered his outfit. She probably wouldn't take it too kindly once seeing his assassin get up. Assassin looking people tend to not get the best first reactions ... or any reaction other than fear. He also couldn't teleport away because she would most likely raise an alarm and he would have no chance of getting the sword if all the guards were on high alert. They probably wouldn't have the same defenses as he was used to during his 50 years of being the Savior. And the magic they would use most likely wouldn't make it any easier.

Omega sighed and knew he had to show himself. He said in his regular voice to make sure she knew he was young, "Just ... don't jump to conclusions." He stepped out from behind the tree in a non-threatening stance with his hands easily visible. If he had to judge her initial reaction, he would say the only thing changed was that now she was wary and went into what looked like a tough 'princess mode' with a curious by serious look.

She said in a neutral tone, "Well you look like an assassin judging by your clothes but your posture and aura are nonaggressive which is unlike an assassin. So why are you here?" Omega decided the truth would be the best option here and if she was a princess, then she could take him to her father which would make his job a whole lot easier. He straightened his posture, though still not threatening, and said, "I came to ask the king for something so I was heading to the throne room." His response only made her done a confused and contemplative look.

"Why wouldn't you just ask the guards to see the king?" Her question made it sound like it was the most common sense answer in the world. This made Omega wonder if she ever got out of the castle to see what lied beyond the gates. It was clear that Omega wasn't a fairy and there were only fairies in the entire city. Any newcomer would instantly be wary of hostile action and would make them wonder if non-fairies were welcome.

He just chuckled to her annoyance and said, "1. When I came to this world, I only saw fairies in the city and no other race. Since I don't know how you react to other races on your planet, I didn't want to start a possible conflict just be being here. 2 People would see my imposing but good looking outfit of an assassin and would instantly be wary of me and ask me to reveal myself. Which I won't by the way for my own reasons. 3. Strangers from faraway lands asking to see the king without saying why are immediately told to leave or are attacked for attempted assassination." He counted each point on his finger and smiled at his good looking comment to see what reaction she would have. He let out an inner breath when she chuckled.

Omega waited patiently while she thought about what he said and studied him. Thirty seconds later and Omega started to shift under her contemplative looked that dissected him like a fish. Luckily, she finally stopped examining him and said, "What do you need from my father?" Omega cheered up when she said father meaning she was a princess and she could take him straight to the king. However, he really didn't want to tell her in fear of being turned away or actually giving away a secret that may only be the kings.

Omega rubbed the back of his neck, "Umm, I came to ask for ... umm ..." He sighed and said, "The Light Sword." He instantly locked eyes with her and he could tell she was surprised. He was happy to see the surprise 'How did you know? ' look instead of the 'Really! The light sword is here!' look. Omega patiently waited for her response and was happy when she quickly gained her composure and didn't instantly start yelling for guards and what not. However, Omega was not happy about the examining look she gave him again. He never liked being the center of attention and being under the direct gaze of a fairy princess made that more prominent than ever. Luckily, he only shifted a little instead of shying away and trying to make her attention be drawn elsewhere. Omega inwardly sighed and wondered how he could still act so childish sometimes even though he was known for defeating a primordial and being one of the greatest assassins in the universe.

"Hmmm," she said, bringing Omega out of his inner turmoil. "I guess I could take you to my father." Omega instantly beamed even if she couldn't see it and quickly did a respectful bow and said, "Thank you princess. May I ask for your name?" Omega looked up and grew a curious expression when he saw her surprised and curious expression. He wondered why she would be surprised. However, she quickly smiled and said, "My name is Hyrah." With that, she turned and slowly started to walk back to the castle. Omega could tell she still kept an eye on him but who wouldn't. They would really be foolish to just trust a guy wearing assassin clothes after one conversation.

Omega quickly caught up to her and started walking beside her in a smooth gait. At first, he walked somewhat beside/behind her letting her show her superiority but she slowed down even more so they could walk side by side. As they neared the castle, she started to give Omega a history lesson on anything and everything they saw including every painting to even why certain bricks were significant. After walking through the gigantic double doors, Omega was struck speechless and his face was filled with awe at the delicacy of the castle since it was the first castle he had ever visited in the day time. Hyrah explained who was in the paintings and why they were created, where the artifacts on the stool came from and what they signified, and pretty much anything else they passed.

They also passed some guards while walking to the throne room. Right when they saw the princess with an assassin, they would instantly take out there weapons and point them at him. However, the princess would just wave them off and continue her speech with a gigantic smile on her face. Omega wondered if she had ever given a tour before and wondered how many history lessons she had to sit through to remember everything she did. Omega definitely would have fallen asleep in the first class because only the artifacts remotely interested him since they came from something interesting ... battles and wars. The guards they passed still kept an eye on them but became less wary when they saw the princess legitimately enjoying touring the assassin around so they at least lowered their weapons.

It took about ten minutes for them to finally reach their destination and the doors between them and the main hall were spectacular. Even after they were opened and they walked through, Omega couldn't help but let his eyes linger. The doors were at least as big as the doors leading inside the castle. It also was the same with the white stone, gold trimmings, and silver handles. However, what made the door so spectacular was the engravings in the stone doors. There were both visual and written representations of what the kingdom had gone through. There were pictures of battles, farming, blacksmithing, training, parents with their young, and everything else that goes on in a kingdom. There were also phrases in a different language that Omega assumed described some events or were quotes of wisdom.

When Omega finally finished admiring the door and noticed the pointed weapons, he almost jumped back and took out his own but was able to control himself and only let out a slight show of surprise ... much to the princess' amusement. Luckily, the princess' amusement showed the guards that the assassin wasn't holding her hostage so they lowered their weapons. They were still out ready for use but at least not in a threatening manner. After the almost confrontation was over, Omega glared at the princess which of course only made her giggle a little more much to the confusion of the rooms occupants who couldn't see the glare through his mask.

The king, having enough of his daughter's giggling at the assassin, said, "Daughter, who is this man and why have you brought an assassin in these halls." Omega could tell that the king wished he could separate Omega from Hyrah judging by his white knuckles gripping his throne with a death grip. Omega honestly couldn't blame him. There was an assassin right beside his daughter basically taunting that he could kill her before the king could do anything ... if that was what was really happening.

Hyrah composed herself and said, "This man has a very interesting request that I would like to see fulfilled." She looked back at Omega with mirth filled eyes. Even though Omega didn't want to laugh with her since it was at him, he couldn't help but let a small smile on his face. The king furrowed his brow now in confusion that his daughter was smiling at Omega, "And what is his request?" Hyrah looked at Omega allowing him to relay his request. He took a couple of steps forward and bowed before the king who was a little surprised at the show of respect. The king had never seen an assassin bow before him. Even his own assassins were mysterious and just nodded their head in silence. Omega stood tall and proud to make sure his request was a serious request and not in a joking manor.

Omega said, "I wish for the chance to wield the Light Sword." The kings and guards around Omega stared at him and wondered how he could have possibly figured out where the sword was located or how he even knew the sword existed. Most believed it was just a legend. However, the king started to draw the wrong conclusions. He could now see why his daughter was giggling at him. His daughter must have spent a lot of time with him and got too close to him where she even told him one of the kingdoms most treasured secrets. He couldn't believe he let his daughter get seduced by this man who wasn't even a fairy. The king instantly became extremely angry.

Omega watched as a startled look donned the king's face, which was to be expected, turn into a face a fury, which wasn't expected. "I shall not give someone who seduces my daughter into telling them we have the sword any chance to even get close to the sword!" Omega let out an inward thankful sigh knowing his rage was all a mistake. "Sorry sir but I just met your daughter half an hour ago. While she is a fair maiden, I would never seduce her into doing anything. I was raised to respect women and treat them respectively. Not use them to your advantage." Apparently, Omega's response only seemed to anger the king even more which probably meant the king didn't believe him.

"Father, he is ..." Hyrah tried to say but was interrupted by her father's booming voice, "NO! I will not let him coerce me through you into giving him the sword." He turned to Omega with an outraged expression and yelled, "Leave now or I will force you to leave!" Omega was a little taken aback by the king's sudden anger but instantly became wary when the guards raised their weapons. Omega now knew he wouldn't get the sword through diplomatic means. ' _Oh well. Diplomacy sucks anyway,'_ Omega thought.

Omega outwardly sighed and said, "I will leave. But I want you to know that I honestly just met your daughter today and I would never seduce her." He did a slight bow to the king and said, "Sorry to disturb you Milord." With that, he turned around and left the throne room trying to reign in his temper. He hadn't been yelled at like that in a long time and he forgot what it was like. It didn't necessarily hurt him in any way but it brought back some memories he didn't want to be brought back up. He also didn't like to be accused of seducing the princess. He would never take advantage of a women like that! While he could see how the king could jump to that conclusion, the king should have listened to both Omega's and Hyrah's explanations before exploding and casting Omega out.

After Omega calmed down enough to notice the princess was trying to catch up to him, he slowed down his steps so she could catch up. Before she could speak, Omega quickly apologized. "Sorry for making your father think this way. I promise you it wasn't my intention." Omega didn't want to leave a bad reputation with both the king _and_ the princess. He waited for her response and looked up. He saw a confused expression on her face and he could probably guess why since many people sometimes had that same look when he apologizes. It was the confusion as to why he was apologizing when it wasn't his fault. He inwardly chuckled at how he could make pretty much anyone have that look.

Hyrah spoke up, "What is your name?" Omega looked at her curiously wondering why she would ask for his name. He slowly walked up to her which made her flinch a little. He stopped for a second and frowned but started again. He stopped again when he could whisper in her ear, "Omega." He leaned back and took a couple of steps backwards to give her space. He wondered what she was going to say and was quite surprised with her next three words, "Omega ... Follow me."


	13. Destined for Greatness

Hey Guys! Here's an extremely long chapter for you! (9244 words) I got a little carried away but I guess you guys would be okay with that, right? ;) Hope you guys are liking the story so far so feel free to leave a like or comment.

Hyrah was sitting in the courtyard tending the royal gardens just like every other day. She'd pull out weeds cropping up trying to suffocate the beautiful flowers that gave life to the gardens, water the plants as to keep their luster and grace, and plant new herbs to add more variety in the gardens. The staff always berated her for doing manual labor but she would always counter with how enjoyable and peaceful it was.

While she did enjoy gardening, she also had an alternative reason for spending her time in the courtyard. The guards and staff could almost always see her at the edge of the garden by the walls and the evidence presented itself with the most beautiful flowers nearer the wall than the castle. They always wondered why she worked there but they never questioned the princess. The princess, however, knew exactly why she was gardening in that area.

Being close to the wall allowed her to listen to the citizens outside the wall. She always wondered what it would be like to walk amongst the villagers and participate in everyday village life. However, she was only able to look out her bedroom window to see the village and its inhabitants. She longed to step past the suffocating walls but her father always forbade it.

His excuse was always the possible dangers and assassins that lurk outside the walls that would gladly take advantage of a princess wondering around like a commoner. However, in the past 250 years, there had never been a single occurrence of physical violence, kidnapping, or anything to that nature. Hyrah may have understood her lockdown if there were attacks every once in a while but there weren't. Guards were always posted around the city protecting the citizens so she would always have protection if she left.

Hyrah sighed wishing to leave the walls for a day to start an adventure, explore the village, make new friends, browse through the shops, and just enjoy village life. The only activities she ever did inside the gates were gardening, royal balls, reading books, and presenting the image of a joyful princess. Her favorite activity would always be gardening because hearing the villagers through the walls gave her knowledge on what village life was like. Whenever her father had open gates for villagers to come and state their worries, he would always tell her that the villagers' problems weren't her problems and to not concern herself with them. However, she felt disconnected with them whenever she was pushed away and wished her father would let her stay. Sometimes she would leave but instantly turn around and listen through the door. Sadly, guards making their rounds would always catch her and tell her not to concern herself with the villagers' worries and personally escorted Hyrah to her room.

She brought her focus back to her gardening and immersed herself into the task. When it was about midday, she felt a presence all of the sudden appear and she instantly looked up. She could tell something was hiding behind the tree and it apparently didn't want to be seen. She could tell it wasn't a fairy or her magic would react differently to the presence, so it must be a being of a different race. However, Lyrin rarely had visitors from other planets and they only ever came when her father was having a political meeting. Considering this being was hiding behind a tree, she doubted it was here for a meeting even if there was one today.

One thing she did notice however was that the being had a startled aura. It never had a threatening aura meaning it wasn't here to cause damage. It actually had an aura leaning more towards calm but determined before she startled it into hiding. She laughed to herself inwardly and decided to just be wary and not make hasty decisions.

She spoke in a calm, coxing voice saying, "You can come out. I won't hurt you." She stood there knowing she had to let it come out on its own or it could run away. One peculiar thing about it was that it seemed like a person but since it was not a fairy, she didn't understand why it would hide behind a tree. She was brought out of her musings when it spoke, "Just ..." she was caught by surprise at how young the man's voice sounded. She also couldn't detect any fear, just trepidation. "... Don't jump to conclusions." She wondered why she would jump to conclusions but she got her answer when he stepped out from behind the tree.

She instantly put on her guard seeing the assassin outfit. After she realized he wasn't going to advance, she took a closer look at him. He had a solid black coat with a deep green liner on the body part of the cloak and a flame orange liner on the head part. His mask was also solid black with the same two colors swirling around creating a very intricate and beautiful design. The cloak was open with his hands sticking out so she knew he didn't have any weapons in his hands. However, the opened cloak revealed throwing knives across his chest that were easily assessable if he decided to use them and there were also two swords strapped to his waist. Additionally, she saw a scabbard on his back with only one sword sheathed and she wondered if he lost the other.

After she finished assessing him, she said in a monotone voice, "Well you look like an assassin judging by your clothes but your posture and aura are nonaggressive which is unlike an assassin. So why are you here?" She watched as he straightened his posture, though still not threatening luckily, and looked her in the eyes. She inwardly gasped at the beauty his eyes possessed. His irises were a rich, sea green color with orange flecks dotted across his entire iris. It was like little lanterns floating in the sea. One place she always wished to visit was the ocean to the west of the kingdom but father never let her. However, she felt like his eyes were a perfect representation of what it would look like just with more artistic design to it.

She was once again brought out of her inner thoughts and trance like state when he said in a business tone, "I came to ask the king for something so I was heading to the throne room." She looked at him curiously and wondered why he didn't just talk to the guards. Surely they would have brought him to see the king or at least delivered a message. She voice her thoughts, "Why wouldn't you just ask the guards to see the king?" His posture seemed to slightly slouch at her question like it was a stupid question. That annoyed her a little bit but she kept up her mask as to not let the man now it. However, when he chuckled, she knew her mask slipped.

"1. When I came to this world, I only saw fairies in the city and no other race. Since I don't know how you react to other races on your planet, I didn't want to start a possible conflict just be being here." She could understand that. It would be pretty intimidating being an odd man out when you're with people bigger and stronger than you. Also, fairies are not known to be very sociable which made that point a valid reason. "2. People would see my imposing but good looking outfit of an assassin and would instantly be wary of me and ask me to reveal myself. Which I won't by the way for my own reasons." She chuckled a little at that one and slightly relaxed. She did agree that his outfit would cause wariness from the people and most likely hostile action from the guards. She also wondered why he wouldn't take off his cloak and mask but put it down as him hiding what was underneath, other than the weapons of course. "3. Strangers from faraway lands asking to see the king without saying why are immediately told to leave or are attacked for attempted assassination." True true.

She studied the man closely and looked directly into his eyes. She didn't think he was lying and he didn't give any indication that he meant harm to anybody, her or her father. He also seemed like a funny guy once he was relaxed. She saw him uncomfortably shift a little under her gaze and decided that he really wasn't here to cause harm. However, she wanted to know what was so important that he had to ask the king directly instead of telling the guards at the gate. "What do you need from my father?" She could tell he instantly cheered up and wondered why he would cheer up at her question. He just said that he wanted to see the king but wouldn't tell anyone else. Unless ... he wanted her to take him to see her father since she could easily get past all the road blocks if she lead him. She wasn't necessarily mad at her slip since he still didn't have a threatening aura.

She inwardly laughed when he started to nervously rub his neck and she could tell that he didn't want to tell her. However, she smirked because both of them knew she was his only chance at seeing her father. He anxiously said, "Umm, I came for ... umm ..." She waited patiently for him to finish and she got a little annoyed at his unknowing attempt to build up her curiosity. "The Light Sword." That was not what she expected to hear. Her main question tumbling through her mind was, ' _How did he know!?'_ Only the royal family knew about the sword. She had to give him credit if he was able to track the sword down to this kingdom. She studied the man again in a new light. He seemed like a nice guy and they weren't exactly trying to prevent people from trying out the sword. They originally accepted the act of guarding the sword so only the worthy could find it and have a chance to wield it.

She inwardly chuckled again when he shifted like last time and she could tell he didn't like all the attention. While some may think being shy like this guy is a flaw, others see it as a show of character. Unless he was a top notch actor, she could tell he didn't seek glory or fame like other potential wielders of the sword. That was one reason why she decided to at least give him a chance. She was actually kind of excited at the prospect of someone being able to wield the sword. It hadn't been used ever since the battle between light and dark all those years ago, so she was really curious to see if this man might be the one. However, she didn't want him to see her excitement of someone finally being able to wield the sword so reeled it in.

"Hmmm," she started and watched at the growing curiosity in his stance. "I guess I could take you to Father." A smile crept up on her face and she saw his eyes light up and guessed there was also a beaming smile under the mask. She was also surprised when he did a slight bow. "Thank you princess. May I ask your name?" And that solidified that he wasn't an assassin. No matter how good of an actor he was, he asked that question in such a way that couldn't have been acting, and no assassin would try to kill the king without at least finding out his daughter's name. She smiled and responded, "My name is Hyrah." With that, she turned around and headed towards the castle knowing he would follow her.

She still kept an eye on him to make sure he didn't try any funny business. She noticed how he walked slightly behind her and smiled. He really was a respectful guy and his chances of wielding the sword were raising higher and higher. She slowed her gait for him to walk beside her and continued their journey to the castle. As they neared, she decided she could give him a tour while on their way to see the king. She told him all about the different paintings and artifacts and he silently listened and nodded his head. She wondered if he was really paying attention but if he wasn't, he didn't show it. She remembered all the lessons her father had her take to understand everything in the castle and the reasons behind it. The lessons were one of her least favorite classes she had ever took. They lasted for hours each day and she was glad when there was nothing left to teach her.

They also passed some guards along the way and Hyrah was glad that they seemed to instantly prepare for anything. Of course, so far he hadn't done anything except stare at the castle like he had never seen one before so she didn't think she needed the guards help. She was also glad that the guard listened to her and backed off without too much effort. They were still wary and watched the assassin looking guy closely just in case he did anything. That also reminded Hyrah that she didn't even know his name yet. However, they were already at the throne room doors so she sighed and guessed she would learn his name some other time.

She pushed open the doors and strolled in with her back straight in a proper manner, showing her authority in the room to make sure her father would at least listen to her. She watched unsurprisingly when the guards around her father instantly unsheathed there weapons when they saw the man. When she looked back to see his reaction, she couldn't help but let loose a small laugh at his oblivious to his surroundings. He was still entranced by the doors. She honestly couldn't blame him though. Those doors depicted the different generations of the fairy folk and the lives they lived. It was an exceptional masterpiece and to this day her eyes still slightly lingered on the history portrayed on the doors.

When the man finally tore his eyes off the door and saw the threat, he let out a slight show of surprise and she giggled again which earned herself a glare without malice. Luckily, the guards took her laughing as a sign that there wasn't an imminent threat so they slightly lowered their weapons which in turn made the man relax.

Her father finally spoke up from his throne and said, "Daughter, who is this man and why have you brought an assassin in these halls?" She watched as his eyes nervously shifted from her to the man and back again and she assumed he still must fear for her safety. She gave a small smile and was thankful for the concern. Hyrah composed herself before speaking. "This man has a very interesting request that I would like to see fulfilled." She looked back at the man still with amusement from his door scene. When she looked back to her father, he had a confused and contemplative look on his face. "And what is his request?" Hyrah looked back at the man letting him relay his request.

He stepped up in a proper stance just like she entered the hall with and said, "I wish for the chance to wield the Light Sword." Silence ensued his statement and the occupants of the throne room stared at him in wonder and amazement at how he knew where the Light Sword was. Hyrah inwardly laughed and smiled remembering she had the same expression on her face when he asked her his request just moments ago. However, the smile was wiped off her face when she saw her father don a livid expression.

She was confused as to why he looked so angry. She already said she wished him to try to wield the sword so he should at least hear him out before becoming angry with him. However, she soon found out why he became angry, "I shall not give someone who seduces my daughter into telling them we have the sword any chance to even get close to the sword!" Hyrah stared at her father wondering how he got seduction out of his request. It wasn't like she was hanging off him as a love struck fairy. She quickly turned to The man waiting for him to blow up or something and yell at her father. On the contrary, he seemed to relax and she guessed he thought it was a simple fix. "Sorry sir but I just met your daughter half an hour ago. While she is a fair maiden, I would never seduce her into doing anything. I was raised to respect women and treat them respectively. Not use them to your advantage." She blushed a little at being called a fair maiden but quickly hid it because she knew a blush wouldn't help his case.

Before either could further hinder the man's request, she tried to say, "Father, he is ..." However, it was not meant to be. Her father's booming voice interrupted her. "NO! I will not let him coerce me through you into giving him the sword." She stared at her father wondering why he was this livid. He wouldn't even let her defend herself. She watched as he turned to the man with a furious face and yelled, "Leave now or I will force you to leave!" She even gasped a little at his outraged tone and turned to the look-a-like assassin waiting for him to start yelling that he deserved at least a chance. However, she was proven wrong again when there wasn't any anger in his stance or hate in his eyes.

He just sighed and said, "I will leave. But I want you to know that I honestly just met your daughter today and I would never seduce her." She was impressed that he was able to keep his anger in and was astonished that he even did a calm bow of respect after being yelled at. That made her wonder if he was just able to keep his cool or was he used to being yelled at and having to stay calm. She hoped it was the former but she didn't know anything about his history and he said that he wouldn't take off his cloak for his own reasons. She inwardly gasped and wondered if he was hiding results of abuse. That would be a legitimate reason as to why he wouldn't want to take off his cloak and mask. She was brought out of her thoughts when he, once again, said in a respectful tone, "Sorry to disturb you Milord." With that, he turned around and left the throne room in a calm manner like he wasn't just thrown out.

She wanted to glare at her father and tell him that he didn't do anything that he was just accused of but she knew he wouldn't listen. So, she just walked out of the throne room trying to talk to the assassin look-a-like ... she really needed to learn his name or it was going to drive her crazy. She tried her best to follow him but she could now see his anger coming out with how quick and heavy his steps were. She just hoped that once she finally reached him he wouldn't blow up at her. However, judging by his past conversations and how he handled the king, she doubted he would yell at her.

He finally slowed down and she quickly strolled up to him and was just about to speak before he quickly interjected. "Sorry for making your father think this way. I promise you it wasn't my intention." She was just about to say it was okay and then thought it would have been a perfect attempt to cause strife in the kingdom. With the king and his daughter fighting, the kingdom would definitely suffer and it would be easier for enemy spies to sneak into their ranks while the two were arguing. However, she knew he wouldn't have came here for that and he definitely wouldn't have told her that if he wanted to cause strife. She just gave him an expression like 'why are you apologizing?'

Once he looked up, Hyrah remembered that she wanted to know his name so she asked, "What is your name?" He hesitated for a moment and she wondered why he wouldn't just say it. He still didn't look threatening so she didn't think he took offense for asking his name. When he took a step forward, she knew she flinched a little at the unexpected movement and he stopped for a second probably frowning before continuing. He leaned forward and whispered into her ear, "Omega." She had never heard of that name before but she guessed where he came from had different types of names. She watched as he stepped back and waited for her response.

She looked over Omega and wondered what she was going to do. Her father clearly didn't want him trying to wield the sword, but she knew that he could be the one to wield the sword. He was kind to her and was respectful to the king even when he was being yelled at. He was also hilarious with his obliviousness but she could see a fire in his eyes showing his fighting spirit. She knew she already made her decision right when her father kicked Omega out, so she stared right into Omega's eyes to steal some courage from him. "Omega ... Follow me."

Omega hesitated for a second before following Princess Hyrah. The look she gave him when she asked him to follow her was filled with determination and Omega had a clue what she was doing. They walked down many corridors and turned left, right, right, left ... Omega wondered if magic was in play because he had never forgotten his way through a castle. Definitely not after only 5 turns. However, he just followed the princess wherever she was leading him and he inwardly crossed his fingers that she was taking him to the Light Sword. He knew that would going against her father's orders but it would make sense with how much determination she had and how her steps were filled with confidence.

After making who knows how many turns, Omega officially concluded magic was in play, they came upon decently sized double doors. They were made with the same material as the throne room doors but without all the intricate designs plastered on the doors. Hyrah stopped 10 feet from the door and turned around to Omega who was only a couple of steps behind her. She said, "There will be one challenge before you have a chance to wield the sword. I've heard rumors that even if you pass the challenge, there is no guarantee you'll be able to wield the sword. So, good luck." Hyrah stepped out of Omega's way so he could walk up to the door. As he passed her, he gave a slight bow of appreciation and respect. "Thank you very much for your kindness. If I'm ever around and you need me, don't hesitate to give me a holler." He turned back to the doors and pushed them open with relative ease.

Inside, walls were filled with different varieties of weapons that reminded him of the Pit prep room. Of course, these weapons were much nicer than the ones in the Pit and were also different styles that probably suited fairies. In the middle of the room sat one of the biggest and broadest fairies Omega had ever seen. He had long, braided brown hair that reached down to his hips. He wore loose clothing under a breastplate, arm guards, and shin guards and had a gigantic broadsword strapped to his back. He was at least seven feet tall and very burly with a light orange tint to his skin. All in all he looked like a tall dwarf with soft facial features.

He walked inside to about 10 feet from the man while the doors shut on their own, most likely locking him inside. He waited for a second until he noticed the man was actually sleeping! He, of course, wouldn't attack him while he was defenseless since Omega was an honorable fighter so he just sat crisscross-applesauce like the man and went into his meditation/sleeping state. Ever since he gained immortality, he had never had to fully sleep like he used to. Now, he only had to go into this meditation state. It rested his entire body and mind but allowed him to keep his other senses so he could tell if something around him changed.

Five hours later, the man finally started to stir and looked up at Omega. Omega woke up at the slightest movement so he was already looking at the man when he looked up. Omega was a little confused when he gave a small, approving smile and he wondered if he approved of his outfit. ' _That would be a first.'_ Omega thought.

Omega was surprised when the man spoke in a powerful voice that if Omega was standing he might have bowed to him. "Hello young one." He definitely had a better authoritative voice than any other king he had met and the kindness in his voice could have be found in a children's orphanage. He continued in that entrancing voice, "My name is Rufeir, Guardian of the Light Sword. I assume you wish to try your luck in wielding it." Omega nodded and quickly reassessed him. If he was extremely old, then he would have plenty of knowledge and experience in many techniques and variety of weapons. That would definitely pose a problem since he only had around 70 years of training under his belt while Rufeir probably had a millennium.

Omega only waited a second before replying, "Hello Rufeir, my name is Omega and yes, I would like to gain the honor in wielding the Light Sword." Omega could already tell the first challenge was to fight Rufeir and he couldn't wait to see what skills were lying dormant inside fairy. He didn't want to use any of his abilities to win this match so he wouldn't use them unless his life was threatened. Who knew? Rufeir could be the best swordsman in the galaxy and that would explain why he was the only test between the entrance and the sword. Omega could also tell that every word and action he said was part of the test so he definitely thought about his words before speaking.

Rufeir nodded his head and said, "Then are you prepared to fight for it? There is no going back once you start unless you are rejected by the sword. Do you still wish to continue or turn back now and guarantee your life?" Rufeir had seen many soldiers come not prepared to give their lives for the ultimate treasure. If they were unwilling to put their lives on the line for the sword, then they would most likely put their lives first on the battlefield once their life was threatened.

Without a moment's hesitation, Omega nodded his head and agreed to the battle, waiting for the fairy to make the first move. Rufeir pulled out the silver greatsword that was strapped slightly titled on his back. It was beautifully crafted with small red and green gems on the handle and a grey streak going up the middle of the sword while the rest was silver. It was also polished so it reflected the light in the room and could pose a serious problem for someone who depended only upon their eyes.

Omega pulled out his two swords on his waist and got into a ready position with a flawless stance. Both assessed each other and neither could find a weak point in the other's stance. Rufeir could tell Omega wasn't going to attack so he quickly charged the small distance in between them seeing if he could catch Omega off-guard. Omega saw he held his sword high in the air just like the brute from the Pits to slash him clean in half. However, Omega knew Rufeir wouldn't do such a basic and easily foreseen attack so he waited for the real attack.

At the last second, Omega was proven right when the sword rapidly dropped and swung up instead of down. Omega jumped to the side using his sword to help push the greatsword out of the way. Before Omega could go on the attack, Rufeir kept his momentum going and came back around with his sword. Omega dodged again and quickly tried to slash at his calf. However, he soon found his sword blocked inches away from his target.

He was instantly put on the defensive after that while pretending to be at his limit. He could probably go on the attack and find a weak spot much sooner than waiting for one to show but he wanted this to be a challenge and to also further assess Rufeir. So far he really liked him even with only the bits of conversation they had. However, Omega believed that fighting could tell a lot about someone and he had to say that he really liked fighting Rufeir.

Omega patiently blocked or dodged every attack trying to find a hole in his defense. He was actually quite impressed with Rufeir's skill with the greatsword. Many would say greatswords are all power and have a slow attack rate but Rufeir was definitely proving that theory wrong. Even with Omega's quick attacks with his dual blades, he wasn't quick enough to strike anywhere and his blades didn't have enough strength to fully block Rufeir's sword to stop his momentum.

He waited around 5 minutes blocking and dodging until he found an opening. When Rufeir brought his sword down from his left side, his left foot was left open for a second right before he moved it back to finish his attack. Right when Rufeir performed his maneuver, Omega took action and quickly sliced the top of his foot opening a couple of inches which would hinder his maneuverability while also losing a good bit of blood. The attack also made Rufeir slightly falter thus allowing Omega to slash his left forearm before he could recover himself. After a few more minutes of fighting, Rufeir's attacks started slowing down and Omega capitalized by going on the attack.

Omega slowly but surely pushed Rufeir back until he was flush against the wall. Rufeir tried one more power slash but it was swatted away leaving Rufeir defenseless and open for the kill. Rufeir closed his eyes when he saw the swords aiming to slice his neck. He was prepared to die to such a skilled warrior even though he would be revived again in a couple of minutes as long as his body stayed in the room. However, death didn't overtake him. He opened his eyes to see Omega panting with his two swords crossed in front of his neck. He dropped his greatsword signaling his defeat. Rufeir signed and resigned himself to dying saying, "You achieved victory. You may finish it."

Omega, however, didn't wish to kill such an honorable and skilled warrior so he sheathed his swords and said, "I don't wish to kill unless necessary. You seem like an honorable man and you have given me no reason to take your life. Well, I guess other than the fact you tried to kill me but I don't blame that on you since it is your job."

Rufeir smiled at Omega and thought, ' _The sword may yet be wielded again.'_ Rufeir did a slight bow of respect and said, "You have passed all the tests presented to you. You may go through those doors and find the sword." All of the sudden, Rufeir straightened his posture and got a glazed look in his eyes. "He who wishes to obtain the Light Sword beware of its power. If you wield it, you may be consumed and forever want more power for yourself. But if you don't seek to use this power for others, then the sword will reject you and remain unwieldable. The commander who wielded this sword before fought against a consumed wielder. Try at your own risk." Rufeir got his wisdom look back instead of the mystical one and said "I wish you luck and hope you come back with a new sword." Rufeir smiled and nodded towards the double doors before going back to his meditating spot. The way Rufier acted after the warning reminded him of Rachel back at camp when she revealed a prophecy. They both acted like they didn't just give a prophecy or warning that could drastically change future events. However, it was most likely they didn't remember.

Omega thought about how similar the Light Sword's warning was to the Dark Sword's premonition. They were pretty much the same except for the used for good part and fighting the consumed leader instead of being him. He shrugged and walked up to the doors before taking a deep breath and pushing open the doors. The room inside was the exact representation of the dark sword room except for the raised platform where the limper sat. He was actually quite happy there wasn't any creepy guardian there to give a warning. He much preferred Rufeir.

He walked up to the sword and prepared himself for the mental intrusion that he was pretty sure was coming. As he suspected, right when his hand grabbed the handle, he felt the same type of rush into his mind searching his memories. However, this one just felt intrusive, not completely uncomfortable and definitely not painful unlike the Dark Sword. He mentally thanked the Light Sword for being the kinder of the two. When it receded, he took a deep breath and lifted the sword. He stood there for a moment surprised that he was actually able to lift it since he could lift its counterpart. The swords were meant to be polar opposites and no one person could wield both. However, Omega just thought about how many other times he did the impossible and just shrugged off this impossibility.

After putting his sword in the empty scabbard and freezing ice over it to hide its aura, he stood there for a second before he started jumping around like a little kid; he was so excited. Once he calmed down and stood there thinking, he actually felt whole. The aura of the sword felt kind of like his own aura just concentrated on the positive emotions such as happiness, love, hope, comfort, etc. The aura felt like it completed him and mixed perfectly with the aura of the Dark Sword. He took a deep breath in and let it out reveling in the feeling of completion. He now understood himself completely instead of just halfway with the Dark Sword. He looked back at how he didn't even think that the Dark Sword's counterpart would be the other half that completed him and he mentally slapped himself. He really could be naïve and not think things through sometimes.

A big smile was plastered on Omega's face as he walked through the doors into Rufeir's room. As he neared Rufeir, Rufeir rose and smiled at Omega when he saw the empty slot in his scabbard filled but wondered why he couldn't feel its aura. He voiced his thoughts, "Good job Omega! But, may I ask, why can't I feel its aura?" Rufeir was pretty sure Omega smirked under his mask before he said, "I froze water over it to hide its aura so others won't know I have it. Of course, when I fight with it, they would instantly know what the sword was and would know they picked the wrong fight. Surprises play a major factor in battle as I'm sure you are aware."

Rufeir wholeheartedly agreed with that statement and smiled at the smart young man. However, if his ice blocked the Light Sword's aura, he wondered what the other sword in the scabbard could be and if ice blocked its aura. He decided that since the Light Sword accepted Omega as its wielder, it deemed him trustworthy enough to have the full power of the Light Sword and any other forms of high powered items. He was brought out of his thoughts when Omega waved goodbye and said, "It was a pleasure fighting with you. Maybe next time we can go full force and see who wins." Omega walked out like nothing was wrong with that statement but the one left in that room thought everything was wrong with that statement. The wise and honorable warrior was left dumbstruck with only one thought in his head, ' _He wasn't going full force!'_

The first thing Omega saw when he excited Rufeir's room was a worried looking princess who was looking at the ground and pacing back and forth. Luckily, the doors must have been greased recently or something to do with magic since they didn't make a sound. Omega smirked and thought, ' _I could have some fun with this.'_

He listened to her rant of ' _I shouldn't have let him go in there and risk his life to get the sword'_ all the way to _'my father is going to kill me when he finds out.'_ Omega decided to interrupt her at the father killing her part and said quite suddenly and loudly, "He wouldn't be a very good father if he killed his own daughter."

Omega burst out laughing when she jumped ten feet in the air with a small bit of dust falling from her wings and hovered there for a second before realizing it was Omega. Which, once she figured that out, led to a red hand print on his left arm. Omega guessed it might have been his face if he didn't have a mask on so he graciously accepted it on his arm.

Hyrah gave him a stern look to the still laughing Omega and said, "That was not funny! You almost scarred the dust out of me!" Hyrah watched rather annoyed that her statement seemed to make Omega laugh even harder and made him lean against a wall to support himself. In turn, it lead to another red hand print mark on his right arm. She slightly calmed down as Omega pretended to wipe tears from his eyes through his mask. She then noticed that the scabbard on his back now had two swords instead of one which meant he got the Light Sword! However, she couldn't feel its aura like her father said it emitted.

She voiced her thoughts a little worriedly, "Omega, why can't I sense the aura that is supposed to be emitted from the Light Sword?" Omega finished laughing and answer her question, "I froze ice around it to hide its aura so others won't know I have it." She thought that was an excellent idea and very ingenious in battle. However, soon the full weight of his statement hit her, "WAIT! You can control ice!" She had only ever heard of a few races who could control water and even fewer who could turn water into ice. That information would drastically dwindle her list of possible races.

Omega was surprised at his statement then silently cursed himself for letting that information get loose. Seeing no way out of it, he just nodded his head to the surprised princess. Before she could ask more questions, he said, "Thank you for your help Hyrah. I am deeply in your debt and couldn't have acquired the sword without you. I'll take my leave now before your father finds us and 'kills' us." He added quotation marks referring to her earlier statement until he said, "Well, actually, he might try to kill me so let's go."

They walked silently back through the castle with Hyrah leading the way since the magic was still in effect. They meandered their way through the castle back into the courtyard where they first met. They both were surprised with how much happened in such a short amount of time. The Light Sword now had a new wielder. That in itself would drastically change the future. They stopped before the gates where her boundaries made her stop. She looked at Omega and said, "Omega ... Thanks you for making this day exciting. I don't have many of them because my father keeps me in the castle area. So, feel free to come again whenever you like."

Omega nodded and said, "I would love to." He was about to walk away when Hyrah asked, "Before you go, may I feel the aura of the Light Sword?" Omega looked at her nervous face and chuckled a little. He liquefied the ice around the sword to let the aura seep into the courtyard. Omega watched as Hyrah gasped and a serene expression found its way onto her face. She took a deep breath in, savoring the pleasant feeling and asked one last question, "What sword is in the scabbard next to the Light Sword."

Hyrah watched as Omega came to whisper in her ear again just like he whispered _Omega_. "The Dark Sword." With that, he unfroze the ice around the dark sword letting its aura loose to mix into the Light Sword's aura. He quickly mist traveled back to Vinesta leaving a surprised princess behind.

Hyrah stared where he used to be in wonder at how he just disappeared before the words started to sink in that he wielded the Dark Sword! Only someone with a fighting spirit and a dark soul could wield the Dark Sword. And if he had both swords ... then he would be unstoppable. She stood there in horror at what she had done. She just sentenced the universe to a death sentence by allowing Omega to wield both swords. She was about to burst into tears when she remembered something she was told as a child in her mother's melody.

One moment she felt horror and the next she felt hope. She remembered the melody her mother sang to her about how a warrior of dark and light would fight many battles to protect the universe and become the savior of the people. She remembered that just a moment ago when the two sword's auras mixed and blended together like they were finally able to agree on something and form a bond. She knew she was right about Omega and it filled her with pride that she helped a soon to be legend start his journey of being the savior of the universe, unbeknownst to her that he was already the Savior of the people.

 **2 days later**

The king was nervously sitting on his throne thinking about what happened two days ago. Since the assassin found out about the sword, then others surely could and would certainly come to try and steal it like that man. He was appointed protector of the sword by his father and he would give his life to keep it safe. He couldn't fail his biggest job that was probably the biggest in the entire universe!

He debated on his plan of action. The only thing he could think of was strengthening up the castle's defenses to prevent anyone from getting in. He would definitely have to talk to his guards to see why they would let a stranger in. ' _And would let him seduce his daughter,'_ he added.

He decided he should probably start taking action instead of just sitting on his throne so he went to visit his most trusted friend who he hadn't seen in over a hundred years. Of course, it was the king's fault since he was the one who made him the permanent guardian of the sword and said to never leave the room, but he needed the best of the best to guard his most valued treasure. And who would be better to guard the sword than his most trusted friend and greatest warrior on the entire planet.

He felt a little bad about taking advantage of his friend's skill and kind nature to guard the sword his whole life but he couldn't think of a better person. He quickly walked down the many corridors until he reached the door that stood between him and his friend. He was quite proud of the door. It took a lot of magic but his people were able to enchant the doors to only open if one of royal blood of the fairies willingly gave their permission to open it. It can't be forced out of them.

He pushed opened the doors and saw his friend sitting in the middle of the room meditating like always. This brought a smile to the king's face to finally see his friend again and that he wasn't in any way troubled like if the assassin came and tried to steal the sword. Rufeir looked up to see the king standing in the doorway.

Rufeir respected the king and his decisions but he would never forgive him for making him suffer all alone in this room for a millennium. He was proud of the honor it brought to his family to be the guardian of a sacred treasure (even if they didn't know it was the Light Sword) but he would instantly trade it for a normal life with his family and possible future with making his own family.

Rufeir hid his thoughts with practiced ease and put on a smile, "Hello, my king. It has been a while." Rufeir knew it had to do with the Light Sword for him to visit him. Rufeir just didn't know how much he knew about it.

"Hello to you too, Rufeir. You know you can call me Randar. It's not like we didn't grow up together." Rufeir chuckled at this. Yes, they did grow up together and were inseparable. However, when Randar became king, he started to change and the power took hold on him. He wasn't a bad king, quite the opposite. He was just not the same. He used to be a fun addict and they would get into loads of trouble together. Of course, nothing too serious but still trouble. They would help the younger kids with anything they needed and almost never thought of themselves.

But, when he became king he became narrow-minded and forgot about others unless they were the ones helping his kingdom. Rufeir still helped the people in the village but it wasn't the same. Soon, he was asked to guard a powerful object and the king needed someone he knew he could trust completely. Rufeir agreed to it not knowing he would have to give up his life to guard it 24/7. After he found out about it, he didn't want to go back on his word so he reluctantly agreed to be the guardian of the Light Sword.

After coming back to the present without an actual present, sadly, he said, "Of course, Randar. So what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" He might as well get the business over with and see if he also came to actual spend time with him and catch up. Rufeir didn't know what was happening outside the kingdom and the most exciting event that happened in the past few centuries was Omega challenging him.

The king proclaimed, "I believe we need to add some extra defenses to the sword to better protect it. Someone came into the kingdom two days ago and somehow seduced my daughter into telling him about the sword!" The king raised his voice towards the end because of how much that man infuriated him.

Rufeir knew the king was lying even though he could tell the king believed he was telling the truth. He assessed Omega in combat and knew he would never seduce a women. In addition, the Light Sword chose him which doubled his belief that Omega found out about the sword another way.

"Randar, what makes you believe this man seduced your daughter?" The king looked at his friend wondering why he wouldn't be just as outraged by this. But, Rufeir sounded almost like he was defending him. However, he hadn't met him so he must have been curious the king concluded.

"He came into the throne room with my giggling daughter and clearly pretended to be awestruck about the place just so he could smother us with compliments. Also, how else could he have possibly found out about the sword and get all the way to the throne room!?" The king really didn't like that man.

Rufeir used his 'wisdom' voice and said, "There are many ways to find out information in the universe. There are even items that can track down other items. Do not be too hasty to judge or it can come back to haunt you in the end."

The king stared at his friend incredulously, wondering why he still wasn't agreeing with him. He was doing the total opposite! "Why are you defending him?!" The king yelled. Rufeir just shook his head, "Randar, I am not defending him or saying that he did not seduce your daughter. I'm saying there are other courses the man could have taken to get information. I am merely advising you and allowing you to make your decision."

Rufeir hoped this would calm Randar down but he was sorely mistaken. "Why would you defend someone you never met?!" Unless the king thought. "Unless ... you have met him." The king hoped this was not the case but when no response came from his friend he knew that man had came through here.

"What happened?! Did he steal the sword?!" The king was worried. It was his job to protect the sword and if he failed, the universe could be in danger. Luckily, Rufeir relieved his worries when he said, "No, Randar, he didn't steal the sword."

The king sighed relieved and had new determination to protect the sword from thieving intruders. "Good. Now, I think we need to put some enchantments in the hallways to stop people from even getting to this room and some traps for whoever tries to open the door." The king kept rambling along until Rufeir interrupted him.

"My king," he decided to address this formally if he had any hope of succeeding. "Isn't the point of me protecting the sword to test the physical and mental capabilities of the people who should get the chance to wield the sword?" The king just shook his head still thinking about all the traps he could set up.

"No, we need to do everything we can to prevent anyone from getting to the sword. No one is worthy enough to wield the Light Sword and we can't let anyone who is unworthy to even get close to it." The king was adamant about not letting people near the sword. He had actually taken great pride in being the protector of the Light Sword.

Rufeir just sighed and knew he had to tell the king, "Sire, there is no need to set up defenses for the Light Sword." The king looked at his friend incredulously trying to figure out why Rufeir would believe that.

"Of course we need more defenses! No offense but one man is not enough to guard one of the most powerful swords in the entire universe!" The king was getting angry at how his friend could not see the potential threat that would appear if someone got to the Light Sword.

Rufeir simply stated, "Two reasons. One, the Light Sword has its own defense that wouldn't let anybody wield it who is unworthy of wielding it." He paused to see the king's response and Randar quickly responded yelling, "I already knew that!"

Rufeir continued, "Two, it would be futile to put up defenses for an object that is no longer in your possession." The king was struck speechless. What did he mean it wasn't in his possession anymore! Randar studied Rufeir's face but it gave nothing away as to why he wouldn't have the sword anymore.

"What do you mean it's not here anymore?! You already said the man didn't steal it and it was here last time I checked." Rufeir just sighed and shook his head. "I said he didn't steal it. That is the truth. I didn't say, however, that he didn't take it. There are three things you need to consider. The doors to this room only open to someone with royal blood who has given permission for them to enter. Which means someone gave him permission to try and get the sword thus making it not stealing. Another reason, I battled him and assessed his skills and mental state like a guardian is supposed to do. At the end of the battle where he beat me, I believed he was worthy to have a chance to wield the sword. Lastly and most importantly, he walked out with the sword. Meaning, the sword deemed him worthy enough to wield it which I wholeheartedly believe also."

The king stood there in shock trying to comprehend that the sword was gone. Taken by a man who seduced his daughter only to gain more power for whatever selfish reasons he had. The king was furious. "You should have told me that he got the sword!"

Rufeir calmly replied, "I assumed you gave him permission to try to wield the sword since he came through the doors. Of course, I see now that you didn't. But there is no need to worry. He is a great warrior and has a kind heart. He shows mercy to others even when in battle. I wasn't able to verbally interrogate him but I believe a good fight tells a lot more about a person than words."

The king couldn't stand talking to Rufeir right then. His 'friend' was acting like the universe was safe and was not under any threat with that powerful sword on the loose. He needed some time to think so he just turned around and shut the doors on his way to his throne, his favorite place in the castle.

Rufeir just sighed. The king was too far engrossed in his power and was consumed by the sword's power without even wielding it. His guess was also right that he wouldn't get a friend to friend talk. However, he wouldn't let those thoughts bring him down. The wielder of the Light Sword was destined to be a savior of the universe which he couldn't wait to find out how Omega becomes one.

Rufeir stood up and left the room after a millennium of being stuck in there. He walked through the castle surprised that he remembered the way and it looked the exact same. He went all the way to the middle of town getting many amazed glances. He waved to everybody and they instantly waved back or hugged him saying they missed him.

While he enjoyed seeing his old friends, he had a destination set in his mind. He stopped outside a nice looking house and knocked. When the door opened, a pretty old women stood there, tears streaming down her face when she saw him. "Hi mom." And Rufeir engulfed his mom in a hug.


	14. Watch Your Back

Omega sat in a chair on Vinesta wondering what he wanted to do now that he acquired the Light and Dark Sword. He already bought other weapons to use when he didn't need the power of the two swords. He replaced his pit sword with a light blade made from Aeon metal. It was on the upper side of the price range since Aeon metal wasn't found in the universe. It could only be created by Chaos so there was limited supply and Chaos would only hand out so much. Doing the assassin work for 50 years definitely was a smart idea with how much money the evil emperors had on them. Sometimes the more greedy ones would just sit at their desk all day counting money.

He also went to the mage planet, Mistoic, for them to enchant some of his items. He restored his celestial bronze/imperial gold sword back to its former glory and enchanted it to never wear down. It could still be broken with enough force but it would be a lot harder to break. He also enchanted his knives with the same enchantments and added a teleportation ability to it. It was a movement teleportation where when the knives weren't on Omega or being held by him, they would teleport back to him when they stopped moving. For example, Omega could throw the knife at his enemy and when it hit the enemy stopping its momentum, it would teleport back to its holster. The enchantments were also on the pricy side but Omega was still able to pay for everything, even though he was low on funds because of it.

An idea popped into his mind and he went to retrieve his very large map from his bag. He took it out and unfolded it, spreading it across the table. He decided that he would pick a random planet and spend a year there learning about the different races and cultures of the people, finding any cool or mysterious artifacts, training in the different terrains, maybe try out some odd jobs, and just doing whatever he wanted to do on a new planet. He looked at the different planets represented on the map and just couldn't choose one. Most of them looked extremely cool so he decided he would play a little game. He picked up the map and spread it against his wall keeping it up with ice weights.

He created an ice dart and used a piece of cloth as a blindfold. He also decided to spin around so he really didn't know where the dart would land. He spun around 75 times until he got dizzy and threw the dark before he tipped over and fell. He took a moment to recover and removed the blindfold to see the dart landed in the middle of bottom right quadrant of his map. He looked up the planet in the catalog and it was call Thiefer (Thigh-fur). Omega hoped it didn't get its name because there were many thieves on the planet but was disappointed when it said that the planet was basically a villain's paradise. It was so filled with thieves, bandits, murderers, etc. that it didn't have any type of police force. It was a 'come at your own risk' planet.

Omega sighed already knowing it was going to be a long year. Maybe he could join a thieves guild or something and learn some cool techniques on how to sneak around and do whatever to people. He used that excuse to help keep his determination before starting to mist travel east over to Thiefer. It took him about a two months to finally reach the planet which left ten months to explore and find something to do.

He went from pub to pub looking for some type of work or any guild he could possible join. However, there really wasn't any form of order. There was constant fighting between the different groups of bandits and thieves so there weren't any designated areas that one clan claimed. No matter where he went, there was at least a group fight every week which left many bodies littering the forest floor. Omega was surprised that every group just left the bodies lying on the ground to rot without even looting them. However, after they were gone and Omega checked it out, there was almost nothing on them anyway.

Omega tried joining a group but it wasn't beneficial to him at all. All they would do was pick a fight with another group and go attack them. They didn't use any techniques to gain an advantage over their opponents so Omega just left them, finding no use to be a group member since he didn't like just taking lives like picking candy. Many times he was attacked for being a lone man but every group that tried to take him down ended up lying on the floor dead. After the battles, Omega would move to a different area on the planet looking for some clan that actually had some sense and could possibly teach him something.

However, for three months he moved around the planet and couldn't find even one group to at least semi-satisfy his requirements. They all were just bloodthirsty maniacs who banded together to have 'fun.' Omega really couldn't understand people like them. Even if they grew up on the streets, how did they become bloodthirsty enough to just want to kill somebody every day? How far does your mental health have to go down to become someone like that? Omega didn't know and he really didn't want to stick around long enough to find out.

Omega was sitting in a pub in the corner so he could watch all the other occupants to make sure they weren't up to any funny business regarding him. He made sure all his possessions were on him and tightly strapped so he didn't have to worry about someone pickpocketing him. However, he knew the people wouldn't mind stabbing him in the back. He was drinking some weird alcoholic beverage that tasted like sewer water to him and would have gladly have taken anything else but they didn't offer water and he didn't want it to be known that he could just take water out of the air. Every sip he took he grimaced at but sucked it up and drank it anyway so the people around him wouldn't think he had another type of drink that would be worth stealing. It wasn't like they could do anything but they would definitely be annoying.

He saw a lot of the rough looking people give him a couple looks probably debating if they could take him. However, most just look at his mask and cloaked figure mixed with his relaxed posture with dual wield swords strapped on his back and decided against it. However, there were some people who were just really stupid and when they got drunk, all rhyme and reason flew out the window.

Omega listened to many of the conversations around him and he was really annoyed with the one at the bar counter. A man was boasting to his associates, Omega highly doubted they were friends, about being the best swordsmen for miles and he could beat anyone who challenged him. He described some battles that were clearly made up and Omega grimaced when he got a little too detailed at how he gutted a man and fed him to some type of animal Omega had never heard of. Omega didn't really care to prove him wrong even though he annoyed him but apparently one of his acquaintances wanted to see a fight.

"I bet that guy in the corner could beat you," the smirking man said pointing at Omega, knowing the guy would take the bait. The man sobered up enough to at least assess Omega and laughed when he saw Omega. Omega knew the guy was thinking about either his size being small compared to him or how he tried to look tough and mysterious but actually wasn't. However, neither of that stopped him from getting up and walking over to Omega's table gathering everyone's attention. Everyone was curious to see if the cloaked figure was any good at fighting. The man slammed his hand on the table to most likely startle Omega who was pretending to not pay attention because he really didn't want to fight him.

Omega just took another sip of his drink before recognizing the man's presence with a simple, "Yes?" Omega watched as surprise hit everyone in the room at his young voice. He really wondered why everyone thought he was always older since his size definitely didn't scream older age. Omega watched as the man started to openly laugh again before looking back to his companion and saying, "I'm not going to challenge a kid. I would wipe the floor with him!" Omega just chuckled thinking how someone would just assume someone whose voice was young meant he was young. Additionally, even if Omega was young, he could still have held his own in battle.

Omega watched as a little whiplash hit the man when he spun his head around to glare at Omega. "What are you laughing at boy?! Do you not believe that I, Darek Jacknun, am not the best fighter in the area?!" Omega openly laughed at that statement. He shouldn't be too surprised that someone claiming to be the best fighter wouldn't have high intelligence but using a double negative was just never done ... unless you're Darek, apparently.

Darek was fuming now and screamed, "What are you laughing at now?!" After Omega sobered up probably taking a little longer than usual to annoy the furious man, he said in a calm tone, "I highly disagree with your statement. First of all, I am in the area so your argument is already invalid. Second of all, I bet some of these men in the room could pose a challenge to you and even demolish a cocky guy who proclaims to the world that they are the best. The reason for my little outburst was your poor grammatical skill. You used what is called a double negative which means you used two negative statements to produce your argument." Omega shook his head. "You really should take a break from the fighting and maybe get yourself an education." Omega tried giving some helpful advice but smirked when he saw Darek even redder than before. Omega didn't think Darek would appreciate his advice but he had to put it out there.

Omega knew he would have to fight him from the very beginning so he decided he might as well wind him up and have some fun. He also wanted to entertain the crowd a little to see if anyone would give their support to him. Omega doubted it since he wasn't from around the area but he'd try anyway. His thoughts were interrupted when Darek pulled out his swords. Omega wondered for a quick second if he was low enough to just attack him head on without any preparation but smiled under his mask approvingly when he yelled, "OUTSIDE! NOW! And we will finish this like men!"

With that, he stormed outside leaving the pub in silence. Omega thought 'where have I heard that before' and laughed to himself remembering the outcome of the last match. Omega sighed and decided he might as well get out there before Darek burst a gasket. He got up and looked out at the crowd. "I guess I have to fight him. Are there any rules with these kind of fights?" He looked around at the silent crowd and took that as a no.

He walked over to the door and was just about to open it when he heard someone yell on the other side, "Come out and fight, coward." Omega chuckled and addressed the crowd, "You guys are welcome to watch if you want. I won't kill him as long as no one interferes." He added that last part looking at the guy's companions and walked out the door. Omega walked diagonally to the right to be across from Darek and waited for the crowd to emerge.

Darek smiled when he saw the audience come out to watch him slaughter this kid. He originally was just going to show his friends that he was the best by simply beating the kid up. Now, he wasn't going to hold back after those taunts. That kid had pissed him off and now he was going to kill the bastard. And he was glad a crowd came to witness him having no mercy on this kid so they wouldn't even think about challenging him.

After everyone made it out of the bar, the 'sword master' said, "Draw your swords and let's get this over with. I have nice drink I wish to drink after I wipe the floor with you!" Omega once again chuckled at Darek and Omega could tell how pissed he was. Omega reached into his cloak to pull out his swords which surprised Darek and Omega guessed he thought he would use the swords on his back.

Omega just stood there not even in the slightest worried by the fight. He could tell Darek was an amateur by his stance and the way he held his swords in a tight grip like he was trying to strangle someone. His feet were spread way too far apart and wouldn't allow him to dodge attacks quickly and efficiently. His swords were slightly angled which most likely meant it was a new sword that he hadn't grown accustomed to yet. All in all, Omega didn't even have to take out his swords ... so he put them back.

Omega, very bored now, said, "Whenever you're ready." The crowd slightly chuckled a little at Omega since he wasn't even taking the life or death match seriously. Darek, now quite frustrated again, charged at Omega with an upwards slash already primed to end Omega. Of course, Omega didn't feel like dying so he simply sidestepped which caught Darek off guard making him stumble past Omega. The crowd was silent for a second before snickering and laughing.

Omega stood there with his hands clasped behind his back patiently waiting for Darek's next attack. He was keeping his amusement reined in for some unknown reason and it quite confused him. It felt like he should take this a little more seriously but he couldn't even fathom why. Omega could tell Darek lost all forms of decorum when he glared at Omega and started swinging wildly at him. Each attack could be seen from a mile away and Omega dodged them effortlessly. Omega allowed the pointless fighting to go on for two minutes to see if Darek would be smart enough to change his tactics. Alas, he was not.

Once Omega grew tired of dodging, he shot his hand up and knocked Darek's sword out of his left arm. Omega deftly caught the sword in his right hand and got into a ready stance, once again waiting for Darek's move. Omega didn't think Darek would recognize that he was no match for Omega but he still gave him the opportunity to just leave and live another day. Omega watched as the shock flooded Darek's face and the crowd went silent in surprise out how quickly the tides turned. Omega could tell that the crowd started to change their opinion on who might win and made sure to keep an eye on them.

Darek just snarled at Omega and once again charged sword a blazing. Every swing Omega pushed to the side and didn't even move his feet. After another minute of fighting, Omega decided to end it so he used the disarming technique he learned all those years ago by an extremely skilled swordsman. He watched as the sword clattered on the ground and only gave Darek enough time to show his surprise before knocking him off his feet, landing with a solid thud. Omega pretended to slam his sword into Darek's neck but buried Darek's sword only centimeters from his neck.

The crowd grew silent. Omega turned around to his audience and said a little jokingly, "What? No cheers?" Omega thought at least someone would give him congratulations for taking someone like Darek down a peg but all he got was people taking out their knives and swords. Omega guessed the people supported Darek even though they didn't look very supportive before Darek challenged him.

Omega eyes grew slightly colder and he put his arms to the side in a little disbelief and said, "What? You want to fight me too?" Omega was about to add something about how they think they could possible win against him before sharp pain erupted in his left arm cutting his statement short. He instantly went to grab his arm but was shocked to only find a stump about four inches from his elbow. All Omega could think about other than the pain was how stupid he was to turn his back on an opponent thinking he fought honorably like Rufeir when he already knew Darek wasn't that kind of guy. People like Darek fought dirty which Omega was more than happy to pay him back.

The crowd put their knives away snickering when they saw Darek slice off Omega's arm thinking the fight was over. However, Omega wasn't finished yet. He wasn't going to kill Darek before but now he was going to make sure he died a painful death. He focused and willed the water in his blood around the stump to freeze over his wounds to stop it from bleeding, leaving a thin layer of blood red ice. Omega barely noticed how the crowd went silent at Omega's display of power as he took out the Dark Sword with his right hand.

He turned around to see a horrified expression on Darek and Omega guessed there used to be a smirk thinking he won. However, now that the Dark Sword's aura was seeping into the air and affecting everyone in the vicinity, no one felt safe anymore. Omega smirked to himself and revealed in their fear with the dark sword whispering different torture methods that he could inflict. However, once he heard a gruesome torture method involving entrails and who knows what, he snapped out of the Dark Sword's influence ... but that didn't mean he wasn't going to give Darek a painful death.

Omega willed the water in Darek's body to make him stand and made it as painful as possible by squeezing his insides and also freezing small bits of water to rub up against his organs tearing them apart. Darek screamed as he was lifted up and Omega quickly sucked all the moisture from Darek's mouth and throat to prevent any noise except for strangled sounds. The crowd watched in horror at what Omega was doing and they couldn't even see anything happening on the outside of Darek's body.

Omega stepped forward and whispered into Darek's ear, "This is my first time using this sword. I wonder what happens when it cuts your skin." He leaned back and lifted his sword. Omega wondered if it was anything like Kronos' sword, Backbiter, and slowly tears someone's soul. 'Well there is only one way to find out,' Omega thought.

Omega slowly sliced the skin on Darek's left arm where Darek cut his arm off and watched in fascination as black, jagged lines spread from the wound. It looked like poison that could only travel in straight lines traveling up and down Darek's arm until it reached its limit around 10 inches. The whole time it spread must have been extremely painful judging by Darek's muffled screams but he paid them no heed. Omega made another slice a few inches away from the first to see if the lines would connect or anything. He watched as more lines sprouted out of the incision and connected with the other lines doubling the previous 10 inches. He also saw that now his left arm was turning grey like it was dying and Omega guessed that it sucked the life out of his arm.

Omega came back to his senses because of a whimpering Darek and frowned at how weak Darek was. He could at least try not to show weakness even though he knew death was coming. Omega sighed and decided he should end it since he wasn't a sadist. Darek definitely deserved more for his dishonorable battle style but Omega had enough.

As quick as lighting, Omega sliced Darek's neck severing his head from his body. The crowd didn't even comprehend the movement until Darek's head fell from his shoulders. They now fearfully stared at Omega waiting to see if they were next. Omega released Darek's body from his control and watched it crumple to the ground in a dead heap. Omega turned around to face the fearful crowd who didn't even make a sound.

Omega said in a deadly calm voice, "Leave now or fight me." Omega watched how everyone instantly took off down the road running as fast as they could to get away from Omega. Omega looked down at the ground where his arm laid and the pain came back as his adrenaline declined. Omega clutched his iced up stump and unfroze the bloody ice. Blood instantly started gushing out and Omega knew what he had to do even though he wasn't looking forward to it.

Omega lit his right hand on fire, placed it over his stump and willed himself to get burnt. The next five seconds left Omega in excruciating pain until he extinguished his flame and examined his now not bleeding stump. He froze some ice over it to cool it down even though it hurt to put an extremely cold substance on his extremely hot arm. He got up from his knees a couple of minutes later and thought about what he should do.

He couldn't believe how stupid he was. The whole fight Omega knew not to underestimate Darek but he did anyway. He turned his back on him and, really, Omega deserved what he got. It was his own fault for turning his back on his attacker who Omega knew would take any chance he got to injure Omega. He glared at Darek's body and lit the man's body on fire to not leave any evidence of his sword's work, leaving only his clothes and weapons behind. He wanted to make sure that the people saw what remained of Darek and know not to mess with Omega ever again.

He turned back around to look at his forearm laying on the ground. It was really disturbing when he thought about it so he decided to just look away. He thought about if there was any way to fix his problem. He didn't think there was any way to reattach his arm so he ruled that option out. He wondered if some planet had prosthetics or something but ruled that option out too because prosthetics didn't provide quick enough movement to keep up with his fighting style.

He looked back at his hand and idea sprouted in his mind that he hoped would work. He pulled water out of the air and coated it around his arm on the ground. He made sure to focus on every curve and indentation to create a mental picture of his arm in his mind. Then, he duplicated it and created an exact replica of his arm now made of ice. He willed the ice onto his left arm to see how it would fit and closer examined it. It was basically a solid block of ice that would probably get annoying to concentrate on for such a long period of time. It reminded him of his ice coating on his house on Zaref but Omega would have to focus a lot harder on his ice hand.

At first, he couldn't move his ice fingers but after a couple of minutes, he was able to synchronize his finger movements to make a fist then stretch them back out. Another thing he didn't like about the block of ice was that it would be a great hindrance in battle because of its weight. To make it lighter, he hollowed it out to where there was only an inch layer which drastically decreased the weight. He swung his arm around and decreased the layer to half an inch before he approved.

He smiled down at his hand and knew that with practice he could make having an ice hand work. All it would take would be practice and repetition until his movements were done on a subconscious level. He rubbed his hand against his ice hand and shivered at how cold it was. Another idea sprang up in his head. He concentrated on the hollow area in his hand and ignited a fire inside. Omega watched as the fire swirled around inside his hand and was amazed at the beauty of it.

The ice layer enhanced the vibrant orange flames instead of distorting them, giving the fire a shimmering quality. He stared at his hand for a little bit lost in thought and rubbed his hand against it. His hand was still a little colder than his real hand so he increased the flames' heats inside. He felt it again and was pleased to not be able to tell the difference between hands, at least, temperature wise. He wasn't able to replicate the skin texture so he would have to wrap up both his arms. He needed to wrap his ice arm so people couldn't tell it was an ice arm, and he needed to wrap his other arm as to not draw attention to his other arm.

He greatly appreciated the four years of constant practice in the lava terrain so he could keep the fire going while also not melting the ice. He walked over to the remains of Darek's body and picked up his black undershirt. After willing the sweat off and cleaning the shirt in a floating water bubble and drying it by heating the area around the shirt, he cut two long strips from the shirt and wrapped it around his arms. He looked over his work and smiled at how excellent of a job he did. Nobody could tell the difference between his hand by touch or sight. Unless, of course, they decided to bang against it where his ice arm wouldn't give away while his real arm would.

After coming back to himself, he looked around at the desolate area with an empty pub and he really didn't want to stay on the forsaken planet any longer so he mist traveled back to his house. He was surprised to still feel the fire in his arm and guessed he subconsciously 'flame traveled' the flames.

He spent the rest of the year he would have stayed on the planet practicing with his new arm. When the year came to an end, he was thrilled that he couldn't even tell the difference between his hands anymore. He didn't have to concentrate any harder to move his ice hand than his regular hand. And if he really thought about it, it would actually prove pretty advantageous in a battle if he could will his arm into a sword or shield if he ever needed it. Or shoot out his hand to punch someone from far away if for some reason he couldn't use his knives. There were a lot of advantages to having an ice arm but he definitely didn't want to do the same with his other arm. He preferred to have living limbs than ice ones.

Omega was outside practicing with his sword in his left hand and was cutting down trees. Having an ice arm allowed him to swing much harder and faster since he could push the ice forwards while also using his arm to push the ice. "I could get used to this." Omega said out loud swinging his sword and slicing a tree in half. He smiled to himself and kept chopping down trees because ... well ... he needed some firewood.

Hey Guys! Hope you're liking the story because I definitely enjoy writing it! I can't believe it but we've just passed 52,000 words! WHUP WHUP! XD Feel free to leave a comment or a like and enjoy the story! Talk to ya later my fellow followers!


	15. A Rare Sight

A few years later, Omega found himself in front of the dartboard just after coming back from a weird water/jungle planet. It housed natives that loved new things so much that they captured him until he showed them new things such as conjuring flames and controlling water. Of course he could have escaped if he really wanted to but he stayed to learn old techniques from the natives and also learned their language. "*^F%E$#" ... it wasn't a written language.

As Omega was getting dizzy after the 80th spin, he threw the dart. After coming to his senses, he saw the dart landed near the top left corner on a planet named Magmar. It was known for its mountains and volcanoes and, once again, an unpleasant year was ahead of Omega by the description. However, the tallest mountain ever discovered was on Magmar and he decided he would add hiking the tallest mountain to his achievement list. Even though he stopped writing it once he got to about 50 achievements and just gave up.

He first mist traveled to Zaref to start closer to Magmar before spending a little less than a month traveling to the mountainous planet. Unsurprisingly, he landed on a mountain and looked out across the range. He definitely had to give the planet some credit for its beauty. Each tree blended well together with the varying color hues and types of trees. There wasn't any evidence of mudslides or earthquakes which would have left ugly scars on the otherwise pristine mountain. He could hear a gurgling creek down below with a splash or two from its inhabitants. Omega sighed at the peacefulness on the planet before starting his journey.

He went from town to town learning everything he could. He was actually quite surprised to find so many people on the edge of the universe but he soon found out why. The mountains were filled to the brim with wildlife and special herbs. They weren't exactly high on the market but in large quantities, they could rake in some cash. Additionally, people claiming they could hike the tallest mountain also came to try their luck ... many failed unsurprisingly.

For about nine months, he made his way across the world towards the tallest mountain to start his climb. He could have easily mist traveled to get there much faster but that would ruin his experience of the planet. So, he did it just like everyone else ... walking, well, maybe normal people didn't walk nine months straight without transportation. He explored many exotic and remote regions on the planet and saw extremely cool wildlife and vegetation. Sometimes he even found plants that ate wildlife the size of bears ... he stayed away from them.

As he grew nearer to the mountain, his excitement grew and he couldn't wait to say he conquered Mt. Giganturum. He wondered if they had a T-shirt that he could wear but decided that the name was a little, obvious, since it was the biggest mountain ever discovered.

He made his way through the town at the base of the mountain and knew instantly that this town was a hiker's paradise. All the shops had everything a hiker could possible want when taking a long trip up a mountain. There were the basic necessities such as ropes, pulleys, picks, etc. There was also more advanced items such as a tent that could collapse in on itself without damaging anything inside. Omega actually took an interest into that item and took a closer look.

It was a carrot orange color and had the same dimensions as his current tent, 5X7X4. The magic in the tent allowed it to shrink in on itself until it was left as a 1X1X1 inch block. The inside would stay the same no matter how much someone jostled around the block. He could also store items in there and basically make it a shrunken storage space that would definitely come in handy in future. After paying for the item that he probably paid too much for, he went to start his long journey up the mountain.

It was on Omega's fourth week that he came across something that disturbed the crisp air high up in the mountains. The first week was quite noisy with everybody trying to prove themselves and they made as much noise as possible, boasting about how they were going to conquer the mountain. He even saw a fat man being carried in a litter. He really felt sorry for the men carrying him. The second week had the more experienced hikers who made some noise but kept it down in general. These men looked like they were enjoying themselves in the peaceful mountains. By the third week, Omega rarely crossed anybody except for the hikers who devoted their lives to hiking.

On the fourth week, he was reminded of his first week. There were loud noises happening above him but he couldn't tell what was making the noise. He decided to cheat a little for the first time and mist traveled closer. When he reformed, he instantly recognized the sounds. It was the sounds of battle and bloodshed. He could hear the clanging of metal against metal and screams of men being killed. It had been many years since he had heard a battle like this and he definitely wanted to investigate.

As he neared, Omega could feel the heat start to rise when it should be falling because of the lack of air and increase of pressure. However, clearly, that wasn't the case on this mountain. When he was almost there, he could see flames licking the trees and spreading throughout the forest. He instantly wondered why anybody would start a fire on a mountain filled with trees. Omega lowered the flames so they wouldn't spread any farther and mist traveled up to the source of the noise.

He reformed on the tree line and was shocked by what he saw. In the middle of a clearing laid a metal and charred wood nest. It was at least 30 feet long and wide and housed one of the most beautiful birds Omega had ever seen ... a phoenix. It had a wingspan of at least 22 feet. It had fiery red feathers on the top half of its wings and the side of its body while brilliant orange covered its belly and lower tips of its wings. It had sharp, reddish/purplish claws that could probably slice through anything as easy as a knife would slice through butter. Its tail feathers were a mix between the red and orange and contained much larger feathers. Fire could be found all over the bird but it mainly concentrated on its back, wing tips, and tail feathers. At first, Omega was entranced at the beauty and power of the fire bird but was quickly pulled away from his thoughts by a shrill screech that shouldn't come from such a majestic bird. He then looked at the armored men bustling around and surrounding the bird.

There were at least fifty of them on the ground dead and fifty more still fighting. He wondered how the men could possible stand the heat and flames but his question was answer when the phoenix shot flames at one of the men. All he did was raise his shield and a dome covered him that repelled the flames and knocked them to the side leaving the man completely unharmed. The only attacks the phoenix could use were physical attacks. However, every man had sharp swords that cut the phoenix whenever it attacked.

After 5 more minutes of fighting, the phoenix finally collapsed leaving 60 men dead, 10 severely wounded, and 30 just plain exhausted. When the phoenix collapsed, Omega could tell why she was fighting so hard instead of flying away. An egg was just below the phoenix. A white egg shell with swirling designs of orange and red blending together gave the egg a unique look that basically screamed, 'Hey! I'm some powerful mythical creature.' It didn't take a genius to understand that the bandits were after the egg while the mother protected the egg.

Omega read a book during his travels that talked about different mythical creatures. Apparently, there were only around 20 phoenixes in the entire universe and they could only produce one egg every 10,000 years which made them extremely rare. Omega had no clue how much a phoenix egg would sell on the market but he knew it would be an exorbitant amount. Phoenixes were also extremely hard to find and pretty much impossible to capture. There were only a few ways to capture a phoenix: befriending them, somehow sneaking up on them and capturing them, or waiting until a mother was protecting her egg so she couldn't fly away.

The dying mother laid in her nest, bloodied and broken. She could do nothing to stop the vile men from taking her child and having their way with it. She couldn't understand how people would attack and kill mothers just to steal their child. They only cared about the profit they would receive should they succeed and it sickened her. She was heartbroken that her child would not survive after all the years in its egg but knew she couldn't do anything more. She could barely even move an inch because of exhaustion and the many injuries littering her body. She hoped beyond hope that something could help her but knew there wasn't anything coming to her aid. Her mate was out on a hunting trip for another few months and she knew he would be devastated when he returned.

In desperate hope, she stretched out her senses, blocking the cheering of the men, to find aid from something and sensed a presence at the edge of the forest. She strained her neck to look at the source and saw a figure hidden in the bushes. She didn't know who this person was or what he was but anybody was better to have her child than those monsters who would do no telling with her child. She could only hope that the man would help her. She telepathically call out to the figure. _"Please help. I can't let these men have my child!"_

Omega was sitting and debating what he should do when all of the sudden a voice pleaded in his head to save her child. He quickly looked towards the dying phoenix and locked eyes with her. The voice itself was filled with sadness and desperation but he could tell that it would usually be filled with confidence containing years of wisdom and knowledge. He felt sorry for her that he didn't help sooner but he could help her now by saving her child.

Omega nodded his head and he could feel a rush of relief flow through the temporary link between them. Omega slowly got out of the bushes and climbed into the nest to confront the men. He honestly didn't think much of them by appearance. However, they were the survivors of a battle with a phoenix which meant they were extremely skilled or fought like cowards and stayed at the edge. The men didn't notice over their cheers and celebration that another person joined them until Omega said, "Quite impressive to beat a phoenix." All the men instantly stopped cheering and looked at Omega. Omega watched as the exhausted men grew nervous as they looked at him. Omega would probably be a little nervous too if he was exhausted and an assassin looking character just walked out of the bushes. However, it was still 30 against one so they calmed back down.

One of the burliest men Omega had ever seen stepped forward. He was definitely a sight to see. He had broad shoulders and was at least 7½ feet tall with a reddish tint to his skin. He had small horns that would spiral from his helmet and sharp claws gripping a sword. His muscles were well defined and anybody could tell that he worked out every day. His armor basically covered his whole body and his helmet lay discarded off to the side.

The leader spoke, "Yes. My men and I had a great victory today. May I ask why you are here?" Omega was a little surprised by the leader's speech. He expected something ... not so refined and more brutish. After recovering from his small shock, Omega said, "Well, I set out hiking this mountain to say I climbed the highest mountain in the universe and on my way up, I ran into you."

The leader looked over Omega skeptically and he clearly assumed Omega didn't look like a hiking type with his cloak, mask, and weapon arsenal. "You're lying." The leader couldn't possibly believe that the young man was hiking the tallest mountain without even a backpack. Omega just sighed and replied, "No, I'm not lying. I really started tackling this mountain to say that I hiked the tallest mountain." The leader still didn't believe him but the way the kid worded his sentence bugged him.

"Started?" The leader questioned. It sounded like the boy now had a different agenda which probably meant he wanted something from them. However, he was going to get nothing. Omega spoke in a soft tone, "Yes, started. I have been so kindly asked to assist the losing side in this fight." His voice then grew hard and cold. "I agreed because I don't like people who kill a mother just to steal her child." All the men instantly drew their weapons and pointed them at Omega, waiting on their leader's order to attack.

The leader looked at Omega like he was crazy and said, "HA! You're just one man. If we could beat a phoenix, who in their right mind would think we couldn't beat one man? 30 against 1 usually wins their kiddo." The leader was finding the conversation quite amusing. He had to give it to the kid to stand up for what he believed in but he should know when to back out. However, if the kid wanted to die then by all means he would grant his wish.

Omega smirked and said, "You are right. _Usually_ , 30 against 1 wins. However, I would say I'm at least worth 100 of you in battle." Omega was really enjoying the enraged faces on the men. He wondered if one of them would burst and attack without the leader's orders but it seemed the leader held them on a tight leash. "Draw your swords boy and let's finish this!" Omega was glad that the leader at least had honor in battle and Omega decided he would in turn fight fair. However, Omega could tell they wouldn't have given him any mercy if they could have somehow won.

Omega took out his swords on his belt and got into a ready stance. The men laughed at Omega's swords since theirs were at least two feet longer. Omega also laughed quietly thinking about how stupid the men were. Omega could already tell they weren't going to take him seriously until he gave them a reason to take the battle seriously which would mean a swift downfall for a few men.

Omega looked over to the dying phoenix and knew she had about 5 more minutes to live. ' _I will have to make this quick,'_ Omega thought. Omega said in an impatient and bored tone, "I'm waiting." The leader tried to hold in his temper but Omega's bored tone pushed him over the edge. "Garkrech, Kidno! Go fetch the egg and start bringing it down the mountain. We'll catch up with you once were done slaughtering the kid." The two went to retrieve the egg that was behind the small army and Omega just shook his head.

Omega felt the worry from the phoenix that they would get her child but Omega mentally told her, _"Trust me."_ The phoenix semi calmed down but she was still worried. When the two were about ten feet from the egg, Omega created an ice dome that would prevent anyone but Omega from touching the egg. Once the two saw the dome form, they were at first surprised but then took out their heavy axes and swords. They held them just like you would hold a sledgehammer and slammed them into the ice right as the leader yelled, "NOOOO!" and the phoenix let out a loud screech of horror.

As the leader saw the dome still there, he yelled at his companions who jumped away from the dome at their commander's booming voice. "You idiots! What would have happened if that dome broke! You would have crushed one of the rarest eggs in the universe!" The leader let out a breath, pinched his nose and said in a little bit calmer voice. "Take your weapons out of the dome and chisel your way through." The men went to retrieve their weapons but Omega froze the ice over them making it impossible to take them out.

Omega said in a serious voice, "Only the mother may decide who can touch her child." Then, Omega yawned and said, "Can we fight now?" The leader instantly turned his head to the still bored Omega and yelled, "Boy, you have no idea what you're asking for!" Omega just rolled his eyes exasperatingly. He perfectly understood what he was asking for but the men just seemed to want to postpone their fight. Before the leader could turn back around and address his soldiers, Omega said, "Well if you're not going to attack first, I will." With that, Omega charged forwards. The men were impressed with his speed but they thought the outcome would be the same.

Omega chose to save the leader for last and went to the left side focusing on one man in the front. The man saw he was being targeted and cockily stepped forward with his sword raised and said, "I got this one guys." Right when Omega reached him, the man swung a downward thrust but Omega simply dodged to the side and sliced upward cutting the man in two even through his armor with some help from the ice coating he put on his swords.

Omega didn't even pause and killed another two before the rest got out of their shock. Omega blocked, sliced, stabbed, dodged, jumped, ducked and was an overall killing machine until only a terrified leader was left. "Just you and me," Omega said in a calm voice covered in blood. The leader knew he was going to die if he fought this demon so he tried to run away. However, he didn't even get 10 feet before a sword was plunged into his back.

Omega looked around at the devastation he caused as he grabbed his sword and then went over to the dying phoenix. Her injuries were definitely noticeable with all her bloody feathers and clearly broken wings and legs. Her head rested on the ground in defeat but said in a grateful tone, _"Thank you, young hero. You have prevented my child from falling into their greedy hands. I wish there was some way I could repay you but alas, my time is almost up."_

Omega simply said, "Your gratitude is enough payment and the honor of fighting alongside a phoenix is quite impressive. I should be thanking you for this opportunity to help your child." Omega smiled at the phoenix but became confused when he saw liquid fire running out of her eyes. He saw that she started crying at the mention of her child so he tried to comfort her. "Hey, hey." Omega said soothingly. "I promise I will take good care of your child. I will make sure it is safe and no one will harm it until it is ready to leave on its own. I swear it." Omega said hoping that she could die in peace without worry for her child but his response only seemed to make her cry harder.

 _"Young one, I thank you for trying to take care of my child. However, without my flames the child will die."_ The phoenix said sadly. It seemed like a simple enough solution to him. "I could just build a fire and keep your child warm. No worries, I will make sure it stays warm." Omega really didn't understand what was wrong.

She sighed coming to terms with her and her child's death, _"It's no use. Only my flames can keep the child warm. A mother's fire is a requirement for a phoenix to be born. Only the fire from their mother can allow them to grow and hatch. Without me, my child will die in a matter of days."_

Omega tried to think of a solution. How was he supposed to keep this child alive without its mother's fire? That's when he thought of a solution. He got down on his knees right next to the phoenix and said, "Light yourself on fire." The phoenix was surprised by his words. _"If I do then you would be burned to death. You don't have the same fire resistant armor that they did and if you control ice, my fire would hurt even worse."_ The last thing she wanted to do was kill her savior.

"You have to trust me. I think I know a way for your child to still be born without you but you have to trust me and light yourself on fire." The phoenix looked at the man thinking he must be crazy. But, she also wanted her child safe and she would try anything. Reluctantly, she lit herself on fire and watched the flames engulf her savior.

She was shocked to see him still kneeling there completely unharmed. He started to unravel the cloth on his left arm and she was surprised to see ice with a fire burning inside. She had never seen someone who had the ability to manipulate both fire and ice. She watched as the man melted the tips of his fingers off and let the fire escape to leave a hollow ice arm.

She could start to feel her fire being manipulated and didn't resist, allowing him to take her fire and wondered what he was going to do. She watched as her fire was sucked into his arm and the ice solidified over the fire trapping it inside. She extinguished her flames expecting to see the flame disappear but saw in amazement that the fire in his arm was still burning. She sensed the fire had the same energy signature as her fire and starting crying in relief knowing her child would be born.

 _"Young one, I don't know how to express my gratitude. I know you will take great care of my child and I hope she doesn't cause too much trouble."_ They both laughed at that knowing how much trouble children could be. Omega was also surprised that it was a girl and smiled. He always wanted a daughter whenever he had kids.

It was getting harder and harder for the phoenix to breath and she knew she was dying. _"Farewell, young one. Take good care of my child."_ She wanted to give this man something as a token of her appreciation but there wasn't much she could do. However, a thought about one gift she could bestow on him came upon her and she looked him over one last time. _"I do actually have a gift for you."_ She strained to lift her head and was barely able to keep it upright.

She blew fire on him and watched as the fire seeped into him leaving a confused Omega still kneeling in front of the phoenix. _"I have given you the blessing of the phoenix. You are one of a few to have ever been given this honor. If you shall ever meet another phoenix, they will know they can trust you and will count you as their ally."_ The world started to get dark and she rested her head on the ground knowing death was approaching.

She heard one last thing from Omega's soft spoken voice before death overtook her. "I swear I will take care of your child to the best of my ability and she will always have a loving home to return to." She smiled for the last time and died in peace knowing her child was safe.

Omega petted the phoenix's head for a second before plucking one of her wing feathers without any blood on it. It was a blazing red feather mixed with a bright orange color near the tip of the feather. Those feathers spread across her entire body giving her such an outstanding beauty that could be compared to only a few. He put a coating of ice around it to not damage the feather on his travels and put it in his bag. He thought the child would like a feather from her mother so she could always have a physical piece of her while the fire in Omega's arm contained her mother's essence. A random thought also popped into his head and he wondered if he could create a phoenix core wand like Harry Potter but quickly pushed that out of his mind. Stupid ADHD! Even at the end of battle his ADHD still prevailed.

He went over to the egg and place a hand on it. He wasn't entirely surprised to feel it growing cold so he picked it up and put it on his lap. He placed his still unwrapped ice hand under it and melted his palm to free the fire. Instantly, he started to feel the egg grow warmer and he sighed in relief. He was a little worried that it wouldn't work since the mother died but he was relieved it did.

Omega would do everything he could to make sure the phoenix hatched and he would raise it for however long it needed protection. However, he didn't know anything about baby phoenixes so he would just have to wing it and hope for the best. After 30 minutes of warming the egg to where it was a good hot temperature, he decided he could hike the mountain another time. He had bigger priorities than achieving a petty goal like that. He was going to be a father to this child, something he had always wanted.

He hiked down the mountain much quicker than hiking up. He hid the egg in his tent while passing by people and wished he could mist travel but he didn't know how a fire bird would react to mist traveling. When he finally got down the mountain, he looked around before a thought struck him. Sometimes Omega cursed himself for how dense he was sometimes. He totally forgot he could flame travel even though he didn't prefer it. He quickly hid himself in an alley and flame traveled to his home on Vinesta.

Three months later a phoenix flew to the planet Magmar at night. He had been hunting and searching for a new home for when his daughter hatched so they could live in relative safety to protect and raise her. He looked forward to the days of spending years with his mate raising his daughter to be a strong and majestic phoenix. He smiled as he reached the mountain and flew up to his nest, glad to finally be able to rest with his mate and child.

However, when the nest finally came into view, horror struck him hard. He saw the many lifeless bodies of soldiers and the worst site of all, his dead mate. He quickly swooped down next to his mate with fiery tears streaming down his face that flowed freely without any restraint. He was away for five months and people were able to find the nest and kill its occupants. When he left, there weren't even any rumors floating around so he thought they were safe!

He rubbed his face against her neck wishing she would come back to life but knew it was impossible. After a minute of mourning, he remembered, or rather didn't remember seeing their egg. He looked around the nest halfheartedly already knowing the brutes took his daughter. He didn't know whether he should be relieved or saddened to not see broken eggshells because there was no telling what the brutes would do to his daughter, even if she wasn't alive inside the egg.

He looked back to his dead mate and lowered his head next to hers. He stayed there quiet for a little while in respected silence before raising his head to look at her one last time. He remembered her in all her glory with her unwavering eyes and knew she fought to the death to protect her child. He looked back at the dead enemies and he smiled a cruel smile at the damage his mate was able to inflict before finally succumbing to the onslaught.

He raised his brilliant orange and red feathered wing and touched the tip of it to her body. He lit the tip feather connecting them together with pure red fire and watched as the fire spread across her body giving her a proper phoenix death. The red fire was created by concentrating all a phoenix's flame on the tip of their feather. The fire had the ability to consume whatever it touched, even another phoenix. Phoenixes knew their bodies could be used for many different purposes and they didn't want to help the people who were willing to kill them.

He watched as the flames consumed his loved one until there was nothing left. The tears that streamed down his face were now gone, only leaving small damp trails on his feathers. He stared at where she used to be before coming back to himself. He knew she would never want him to trouble himself because of her death so he steeled himself and vowed to find the people who took their egg. He stretched out his senses and froze on the spot.

Someone with a phoenix blessing passed through around the same time the men attacked. If it was the same day, then that could mean the blessed one tried to save his mate and killed off the rest of the men. He may have even taken the egg knowing the mother would die. However, even if he took the egg his daughter would be dead. He at least drew comfort knowing that the vile men weren't the ones to take his child. Someone trusted by the phoenix race had his daughter and he knew he wouldn't defile it and use it for nefarious reasons.

He smiled for the first time since arriving upon the devastating scene. What were the odds that a phoenix blessed came and saved his daughter? Unless ... his mate blessed him for saving her and their child by killing off the men. What bugged him though was that just saving her without her getting to know him would not be a sufficient enough reason to give him a blessing. However, if he was somehow able to take care of their child, then that would be a perfect reason to give him the blessing.

Hope blossomed in him and he quickly took off in search of the blessed one. He followed the trail down the mountain with the stealth and skill that came with thousands of years of hiding. He followed the trail to some alleyway and stopped in his tracks. There was a higher concentration of heat permeating the area and a few scorch marks on the ground and wall. If he didn't know any better, those marks and heat residue reminded him of flame travel. He couldn't personally do it but his father had the ability.

He stared at the spot in silence contemplating how a being who wasn't a phoenix could flame travel. He thought long and hard and reviewed all his past learnings and history lessons but couldn't come up with any race that could flame travel. There were some races who could manipulate fire or lava but not to the extent of flame travel. Only beings who had a core of fire could flame travel and he was sure no being had a core of fire other than phoenixes. However, the more he looked at the scorched parts the more sure he was about it being flame travel.

He decided to just accept that it was flame travel even if he couldn't explain it and started looking for his daughter. He despaired for a moment thinking that if the being flame traveled, it would be impossible to just track his energy signature unless he randomly came upon him or another trail. He shook his head to push away the doubts and filled those empty spots with determination. He would find his daughter no matter what it took and nothing would get in his way.

Over the next two years, Omega kept the egg warm with its mother's fire. He could be found at least 5 times a day sitting on his couch in a crisscross-applesauce position with the egg on his lap, warming it up to keep it healthy. At night, he would even take it to bed with him with her mother's fire burning on some logs in the middle of his room. Of course, there was ice preventing the fire from catching the wood and burning his house to the ground.

After his training for the day, he would spend time with the egg and would even give it company by talking to it even though it couldn't hear him. Omega would tell it stories of his adventures and past life and he was pretty sure that if the phoenix could understand him, she would definitely understand Omega the most since he told her all his feelings about the events too. It felt good talking about his past life and letting it out even if the recipient couldn't hear him.

Even with Annabeth he never told her how he really felt. He had to be the strong figurehead of the camp even with her. He did tell her some things that were able to drop past his facade but never everything. Now, he was quite happy that he never shared himself wholly with her. He also felt more relaxed talking about his story with the baby phoenix inside the egg than Annabeth. He smirked to himself at his ability to talk about that ... he wasn't going to curse in front of the child even if she couldn't hear him ... without him feeling anything. He really appreciated his meditation training on Zaref and his two swords that helped him conquer his emotions and come to terms with what happened on Earth.

On the second year on Vinesta, Omega was using the phoenix's fire to warm up the egg just like every other day until the egg started to wobble. He paused wondering if he imagined it but the egg didn't move again. He shrugged and guessed he imagined it because it didn't budge again. He put the fire under it again and it budged once more. This time, he knew he didn't imagine it and kept the fire under it. The egg started to rock back and forth faster and faster until the egg was voraciously sucking in the phoenix flame so much that Omega had to increase the temperature and size of the fire.

Omega flinched a little when the egg cracked since he was so focused on the rocking egg. More and more cracks started to appear and Omega was beside himself with anticipation and joy that the egg was hatching. All of the sudden, the egg shell exploded outwards and a baby phoenix about two feet high with a wingspan around four feet landed in Omega's lap. Omega stared at the beautiful creature on his lap with awe and wonder. It looked just like her mother with its red and orange feathers just with more orange than red. Its legs were a bright golden color that she must have got from her father with sharp black claws meant for tearing flesh off its prey.

When the phoenix looked Omega in the eye, Omega was shocked that the phoenix's eyes were black and, like his, with orange specks in them. They stared at each other for a couple of seconds taking each other in. Omega had never seen such an amazing and magnificent creature before and he was left speechless. He couldn't even fathom that this phoenix was his daughter. He was just barely able to process that there was an extremely rare creature just sitting in his lap staring back at him.

 _"Hello Omega."_ The phoenix said in a soft, velvety, female voice to the surprised Omega who shook with shock at how the phoenix could already talk and even more so at how she knew his name.

Omega could tell the phoenix was laughing at his shocked expression since their minds were still connected and she said, _"While phoenixes are in the egg, they can still hear everything that happens around them while growing. My mother taught me all about phoenix culture and other important topics for my first 20 years in the egg."_

Omega thought that was really handy but then froze for a second. "Wait. So that means you heard all the stories I told you?" The phoenix just nodded her head and said, _"Yes. I am proud to have a father like you."_ Omega froze, again. Father. He always wanted to be a father. He always wondered what his own children would be like and knew he would take care of his daughter even if she was a bird. Omega just smiled and said, "And I am proud to have a strong daughter like you." There mental connection revealed each other's emotions full of love and caring. Omega didn't really know why he felt that much love coming from the phoenix but it didn't matter to him how he got it. He had it and he would never let it go. Omega awkwardly hugged the phoenix but the phoenix just wrapped her wings around Omega making it much more comfortable.

They were finally together in the flesh and they were happy. Each reveled in each other's warmth while Omega also enjoyed the feeling of her soft feathers against his face, even when they tickled his nose a little. Omega pulled away and said, "I want to show you something." The phoenix was confused but flew onto Omega's outstretched arm while he carried her into a room next door.

In a transparent blue box made of thin ice, a blazing red and orange feather sat on a pedestal with a small fire along the bottom giving the room a nice soft glow. The phoenix looked at Omega with shock and said, _"Is this? ...,"_ not able to finish her thought with the emotions flowing through her. Omega chuckled and said, "This is a feather from your mother. I thought it would be nice for you to have a reminder of her other than her flames." Omega watched a little liquid fire run down the phoenix's full of gratitude face.

The phoenix climbed onto his shoulder and snuggled beside Omega's head. Omega relished in the warmth and softness of the phoenix's feathers and knew they would be happy together. Omega thought for a second wondering if the phoenix already had a name. "Hmm, since I don't know much about phoenix culture, did your mom already give you a name since you could hear her?"

The phoenix just shook her head and said, _"No, phoenix hatchlings are given a name by their parent on the day that they hatch. So, it is up to you what my name shall be."_ Omega was shocked that he got to pick a name for one of the rarest creatures in the galaxy and took great pride in it. Even more than saying he defeated a primordial god because naming his daughter had a more personal touch to it.

He thought for a minute trying to think of a perfect name while she snuggled beside his head. "Sylvia," He spoke up in a smile. "It is a strong name but also has a kind touch to it. It flows off the tongue like silk just like your feathers feel against my skin. A name fit for a majestic bird like you." If phoenixes could blush, Omega had a strong suspicion Sylvia would have red cheeks the way she shied into Omega's side. This left a chuckling Omega already looking forward to his life with his daughter.

For the next ten years, Omega raised Sylvia and they became inseparable. They were what people would think a true father and daughter would be. A father who looked at his daughter with nothing but love and would give his life for her. A daughter who looked up to her father with love and respect wanting to prove herself so he could be proud of her.

They did everything together and they even learned how to fight as a team. At first, Omega was adamant about his daughter never needing to learn how to fight because there was no way his daughter was going to fight. However, after much persuasion and logical reasoning, she convinced him to at least teach her because the future was always unclear and you never know what would happen. Omega had to concede on that point because you didn't have to look far in Omega's life for there to be proof about that.

Omega cut down a good bit of the forest for them to practice fighting together because Omega didn't want to burn down the entire forest and knowing him, that would be his luck. He also took extra precaution by adding a thin layer of ice around the trees on the edges of the clearing which turned out to be needed on a couple of occasions.

Each one told their stories even though Omega already, unknowingly told Sylvia but it felt good to talk about it to someone who you knew would listen. Sylvia told Omega everything she learned from her mother about phoenix culture and secrets that no one but phoenixes had ever known. Omega felt proud to be trusted with this information and he swore to never reveal it without permission or unless completely necessary. He would not risk his daughter's life just to protect a secret.

Sylvia didn't know how to express her gratitude for Omega to spend ten years of his life raising her. She had never heard of such a selfless, kind person before because her mother always told stories of people trying to capture them. She vowed to always help Omega whenever he would call to at least slightly pay back her debt to him even though she would never be able to fully repay it.

Omega could tell after ten years that Sylvia was yearning to explore and get out of the forest. He would catch her sometimes looking at the stars Omega told her were different planets with a wistful expression. Of course, she would never say such a thing to him since she didn't want to leave Omega all by himself. Omega also had his fatherly side telling him the outside world was too dangerous for her and she could be captured, or worse, killed.

However, he knew he had to let go of the leash and trust her to make the right decisions like every other father in the galaxy. "Hey Sylvia! Can I talk to you for a second?!" Omega yelled up into the air watching his beautiful daughter fly down to see him. She had grown a good bit since she had hatched. She was now as tall as Omega with a 13 foot wingspan. Her feathers were just as vibrant as when she hatched while the red had started to surpass the orange. Her claws were 3 inches long and deadly to anyone she didn't like.

She swooped down and landed in front of Omega, _"Yes, father?"_ The tone Omega used sounded a little nervous and also a little on the scarred side which Omega rarely, if ever, showed. She watched him contemplate on how he was going to tell her something and she said, _"Father, whatever you're about to tell me, I can handle it. We are in this together whether you like it or not."_

Omega chuckled at that. "Sylvia, I have been watching you grow into such a fine young phoenix and I know this place is not enough for you. You yearn to go outside and explore the unknown galaxy. Phoenixes are not meant to be held down. They are independent by instinct and I know that you are too. So, I want you to go and fulfill your dreams. Of course, don't talk to strangers or go down dark alleyways ..." He was interrupted with a feathery hug and a chuckling daughter.

Once Sylvia heard what Omega said, she couldn't believe she was finally going to see the outside world she had always dreamed of. Once he started rambling when his father aspect kicked in, she knew she had to interrupt him or he could go on forever. So, she decided a hug full of gratitude would suffice.

 _"Thank you, father. I promise I will stay safe and make you proud. I can never thank you enough for raising me and teaching me how to protect myself. I owe my life to you and if you ever need me, just call and I'll come to your aid."_ With that, she flame traveled out.

The flame travel ability was rare among phoenixes because of the difficulty to learn the move. There was usually one or two old phoenixes who had the skill but they spent so much time in isolation learning the skill that they never come out after accomplishing it. Sylvia was lucky to have a teacher who had mastered flame travel and taught her the ins and outs.

Even though Omega was sad that she had to leave, he knew he made the right choice. He couldn't be the one to make her life miserable even if her leaving made him lonely and empty inside again. The past ten years were the best he had ever had. Even back on Earth he never had such a good time.

He sighed and guessed he might as well start his routine of the dart board again. He went inside into his drawing room and grabbed an ice dart. He spun 100 times until he was so dizzy he could barely stand up and somehow managed to throw the dart in the direction of the spinning map. After his vision stopped spinning 5 minutes later, he walked up to the board and found it landed on the planet Hifin. He shrugged because he had never heard of it before and went to his room. He opened the small chest at the end of his bed and looked inside at the contents.

Neatly folded to the left was his black with orange and sea green trim cloak. He pulled it out and smoothed out the wrinkles that twelve years in the chest caused before putting it on. Next, he took out his mask and stared at it. It had been twelve years since he had last worn the mask and it brought back many memories. He smirked at some of them with the fear he caused to most people. After putting on his cloak and mask, he headed to the armory in the basement.

It was packed with all kind of weapons from his travels. However, in the center of the wall hung four swords with a strap of knives between them. His two normal swords hung vertically with a strap connecting them that would attach to his waist. After attaching them to his body, he grabbed his knives and slung them across one shoulder so they diagonally laid against his back and belly. After strapping them on, he looked up at two of the most powerful swords in the universe.

The Dark and Light Sword were still in the ice-encrusted scabbard hanging above where his other two sword used to be. He kept the ice on them so people wouldn't be able to somehow track their energy signatures if there was a way. If people could sense them when he got close then he suspected there would be a way to track their signatures. He picked them up off the hook and tied the scabbard to his back.

He left the room and made his way back to his bedroom where a 3X7 foot mirror was attached to the wall. He looked himself up and down and had to say he missed the look. He still looked as intimidating as ever and had the aura of 'don't mess with me unless you want to die' which made it quite funny when he saw the emperors piss their pants just by looking at him.

One thing he noticed a while back was that there seemed to be more orange specks in his eyes. His irises were still mostly sea green but now there were many more lanterns in the vast ocean. He tried to think what would have caused that but couldn't pin down one idea. He was leaning more towards the phoenix blessing strengthening his fire abilities but it could also have been being bonded to a phoenix. Or, it could be that he used a lot more of his fire abilities than water abilities in the past twelve years. He didn't know but he also didn't really care. He really did like the many floating lanterns in his eyes.

After he was done admiring his old appearance, he saw it was still early morning so he just decided he might as well leave now and mist travel to Hifin. He would always miss his daughter but he knew he would see her again someday and he already couldn't wait for that special day to arrive.

Hey guys! Here's another update and a pretty long chapter. Sorry for the slower update but my family and I are hosting my graduation party at our house and we are cleaning it up. We are also painting half the house so it's taking a while and we're still not done. Because of this, my updates may be slower but I'll try to keep them up every four days.

Also, I always wanted to know how many words a story is but Wattpad doesn't provide that information. So, for anybody else who is like me, I'll post the word count at the end of my chapters to keep you informed.

The school year is finally over for me since I am exempt from my exams (Good attendance and grades have their perks)! Also, my first official job is this summer as a youth counselor for a hunt camp and I am looking forward to it. Hope you guys are looking forward to your summer too!

8377/60967


	16. Act of Kindness

8 years later

Once again, Omega found himself in front of the dart board spinning in circles. He got all the way to 158 before he threw the dart and plopped down into a chair. He gave himself a pat on the back for finally breaching his 150 spin mark. It was such a silly thing but he was proud of himself anyway. After he came back to himself and could see properly, he strolled over to the map and saw the dart landed on the lower middle part leaning more towards the left side on a planet called, Damia.

Just like the many planets before Damia, he had never heard of it and he was just too lazy to look it up. Also, he preferred not to get his spirits down by the possibility of the planet having a bad reputation. He had learned that he would rather go in blind with good hopes than go in not looking forward to the next year. They always say you should go into a challenge with a positive attitude. Because if you don't, then there isn't any chance of having the best time possible.

Omega was happy he didn't have to travel very far since Damia was only about a week's travel away from Vinesta. So he set out on his journey with a smile on his face looking forward to a new adventure ... one that was hopefully a good one. When he arrived on the planet, he was initially surprised to land in an alleyway. He looked around to make sure no one saw him and was relieved to go by unnoticed. He also wondered why he would have landed in this spot but wasn't surprised with how much water was in the alley. There were many leaking pipes dripping water around him which would have added a lot of moisture into the air thus attracting him to this spot.

He walked out of the alley and grimaced at the state of the people. Most of them were in filthy rags with very few in clean rags. Many were slumped against the edges of buildings looking depressed and completely helpless. They were severely underfed and he could see their bones against the loose rags! Even the children were in that condition. He really felt sorry for them and decided he would help them out a little before he started his journey.

He walked through the area some more to make sure it wasn't just in that area. He knew he couldn't help everybody since there had to be at least a couple thousand people in one area but he would at least help out a few hundred. One thing he noticed was that everybody looked at Omega warily or in barely concealed fear. Omega conceded that he didn't really look friendly but he didn't think he deserved fear. He searched through the city until he found someone with clean rags who was actually giving a child a small ... very small ... piece of stale bread that looked like all he had. Omega nodded to himself and went up to him.

"Hey," Omega said in his older voice. The man warily looked up and Omega watched at how he tensed up like he expected to be hit or reprimanded. This, however, confused Omega. Why would he hit someone who was giving out food? Omega decided to just ignore it for now and pressed forward. "Come with me." The man let out a silent sigh of defeat and followed Omega through the town into an abandoned building. Omega was actually quite surprised the man would just follow a complete stranger into an abandoned building and wondered why that was the case.

Omega strode to the center of the room and turned around to see the man on his knees about 5 feet from him in a resigned gesture like someone who was about to be killed. To satisfy his curiosity, Omega asked in an emotionless tone as to not give away his true intentions, "What do you expect me to do?" The guy flinched again and let out a breath. He said, "I expect you to kill me, sir." Omega was once again surprised by the strength in the man's voice and the little fear of death in the man even though he believed he was about to be killed. Omega smiled under his mask and knew he chose right.

Since his curiosity still wasn't sated, he asked in the same voice, "And why would I kill you?" The man looked a little perplexed but still answered the question in his unwavering voice, "Because I shared my rations with another, sir." Omega didn't like how he worded it like it was a written law and grew a sour look on his face. The child the man fed was just skin and bones and looked to be all alone in the crowded streets. Omega was already growing to dislike this planet and he just arrived an hour ago. He inwardly groaned, not liking the look of the coming year.

"And what is your name?" Omega asked, still in his emotionless voice. The man openly showed his confusion and even looked up into Omega's eyes. He let out a small gasp of surprise looking into Omega's eyes which didn't show any hatred or disgust, just simple curiosity. Omega knew his cover was blown so he re-asked his question with curiosity in his voice. "And what is your name, good sir?" The man still took a second to recover from the fact that he wasn't about to be killed before answering.

"Jeruk, sir," he said a little more confidently but still stayed on his knees out of respect. Omega smiled a little and said, "Well, Jeruk, I just arrived on this planet and decided to have a look around. I didn't particularly like looking around the slums so I decided I would like to help out a little. However, I would prefer not being the one known to help out and would like to stay as a silent donator. So, I decided to look around for someone to be my distributer of my gift and I saw you handing out some of your rations to a little girl who looked like she desperately needed it. This concluded my search and I asked you to come with me."

Jeruk took a little time to process that instead of being killed, he was actually being given a gift to spread out to the people. After recovering from his shock once again, he asked, "And what is your gift, kind sir." Omega didn't really like the submissive gesture he was getting along with the sir but he guessed it was ingrained into their minds to make themselves as little as possible to not get any punishment. So, he decided he could live with it for a couple more minutes.

Omega said, "In two hours, I want you to come back to this building to retrieve your gift and do with it as you see fit. I expect you to share with others but that is up to you to decide." Of course, if Omega saw him coveting his gift he would definitely kill him, however, he didn't see that happening. Omega continued, "During the two hours, you can invite any of your hungry friends or family to partake in your gift and choose who to share the leftovers with once you're done." Omega purposefully added hungry in there to make sure the man knew the gift would be food. It would be pretty bad to prepare for an item gift instead of a food gift.

The man looked on in awe at Omega and even did a bow to Omega that left him almost flat on the ground, "Thank you!" Omega could tell he caught on to the hungry part too. "I will invite everybody I know to partake with your gift." He paused a second and had a hesitant look like he might have said too much. "Sorry, I am too presumptuous." Omega was a little confused as to what he meant about getting ahead of himself but it dawned on him. Omega chuckled and said, "I doubt you can invite enough people in two hours to partake in my gift unless you go shouting to the heavens about it." If he did that, Omega may be in a little trouble with how much of a gift he would give.

However, he also knew the man wouldn't do that in fear of being caught. The man looked astonished at how big the supposed gift he was getting. He did another bow to Omega who still didn't like it and said, "Oh thank you! I don't know what your gift shall be but any gift deserves thanks no matter what it is." Omega looked at Jeruk's full of gratitude face and a smile graced Omega's face. He really enjoyed helping people out and he fully embraced his promise to help the people of the galaxy. Not only indirectly by killing off the vile emperors, but also directly helping them by fulfilling their needs.

Omega said, "Also, you do not have to worry about being caught. I will make sure no guards find out about you being involved." Omega would prefer not to get such a kind man killed and he also had some questions for some very disgraceful guards who would kill a man for being generous. "Now go and come back in two hours. Your gift will be waiting in the backroom," Omega said with a gesture pointing behind him. Jeruk gave Omega another round of thanks and headed out the door with a light skip to his step. Omega let out a sigh and headed into the back room he mentioned earlier. The room's estimates were around 7X9X7 and he was actually quite surprised by the size of the room considering the small size of the house in general. However, that only helped out Omega's plans.

Omega first covered the entire room in ice to hold in the delicious smells that his homemade food was sure to create. Next, he created ice shelves with many rows along the walls and any other open space to hold as much of his gift possible. He looked around the room and gave it a nod of approval. Then, he stepped in front of the door where all he had to do was step back to get out of the room. He needed to quickly encase the room in ice so the smell wouldn't attract any bystanders. After concentrated and letting his blessing do the work, he quickly stepped back and froze a thin layer of ice over the door. He made sure the ice was thin enough to only require a tap to break before stepping out of the house back into the depressing streets that wouldn't look so depressed in two hours.

A few minutes earlier

Another day passed like every other. Everybody in the village wondered around aimlessly, searching for any scrap of food they could muster or even the worst types of jobs to have at least a little money. Jeruk was one of the few lucky ones to obtain a job on the upper side of the lower levels. He was a lowly craft assistant who basically was a mule, organizer, and cleaner. He didn't have any special skills to contribute since he was raised on the street.

However, as time passed by, he was learning more and more about the skills required to be a craftsmen. He believed he only needed a few more years to be able to actually help his master and contribute more to the shop. And if the shop's proceeds increase, then he may be rewarded for his hard work. Which in turn would mean a pay raise and more food so he wouldn't starve every day!

He walked down the street towards his small home he shared with 5 other people eating a small, stale piece of bread. He spent a good bit of money on this luxury because he really didn't want to eat the sludge the guards handed out once a day. He was pretty sure they sometimes put poison in it to cut down the growing poor population. That thought sickened him but he knew it was most likely true. Every month, an area of the suburbs would become ill and die in a few days. It was pretty obvious that they were poisoned but no one could do anything about it unless they wanted to starve. It was a necessary risk they all had to take.

He looked at some of the people on the side of the streets and really took into account how lucky he was. Anybody could really do his job so he was grateful to have it. It provided him with clean clothes and occasional bread unlike the people looking half-starved sitting with their backs up against the wall. He waved to some of his friends to make sure they knew that they weren't alone and to never give up hope. Anything could happen in life since it was full of surprises, even after 80 years of this treatment.

Jeruk was about five minutes from his home when he came across a child on her own cradling her knees to her chest with a downcast expression. Jeruk's heart beated against his chest remembering when he used to have that same look on his face at her age. He knew how being alone on the streets felt and could relate to her. Every day he wished someone would come and help him get on his feet but no one ever came. He wanted someone to motivate him to do his best and to never give up hope, not have to figure that lesson on his own. If someone would have given advice to him back then, he may have already been an apprentice in his shop.

He slowly walked up to the girl with a smile as to not startle her. Once she noticed he was not a guard, she lifted her head for Jeruk to see her striking lavender eyes. There were very few people with those genes anymore and knew she would become quite a looker as she grew older. She may even be able to find her way out of this part of town. Who knew? The only thing Jeruk knew was that he wanted to help her in any way he could.

He looked down into his hands to see he still had a small piece of bread left and decided he didn't need it. Of course, he was still hungry but clearly not as much as the little girl since she was pretty much skin and bones. He held out his hand and offered the bread with a closed eyed smile before watching the girl hesitantly take the food from him like he was tricking her and was about to take it away. Once the girl had the food in her hand and stared at it in wonder, he gave her an encouraging nod and wondered if she ever had bread before.

She looked at Jeruk again before she warily plopped it into her mouth. She moaned at the taste because anything was better than the sludge they were usually fed. Grey, lumpy soup should not be anywhere near located in the food category. He watched in delight as she enjoyed her food and was about to give her a speech to inspire her to work hard in life before he was interrupted by a manly and strong voice behind him. "Hey."

He instantly worried about who it might be since he had never heard that voice before and slowly turned around to face the speaker. He tensed on sight when he saw an assassin just standing there looking down on him. He gulped when he saw the black cloak and mask with colorful swirls hiding the man's figure and two swords peeking over his shoulder. He tried to search his memory as to what an assassin would be doing this far in the village but couldn't come up with anything. The guards shouldn't be patrolling for another thirty minutes so he thought he wouldn't have to worry about being caught. However, he was caught by surprise with the apparently new assassin division in the army.

They only stared at each other for a second before the man said, "Come with me" in an emotionless tone before spinning around and walking through the nervous crowd. He thought about running and trying to escape but he could tell this guy was a professional judging by his walk. He sighed in defeat already accepting his fate before following him. He didn't necessarily want to die but he wasn't really living either. He was at least placated by dying helping others less fortunate than him. He really hated that law that basically demanded people be selfish.

He watched the people skirt around the assassin like the plague with their heads lowered as to not draw attention to themselves. The assassin was either oblivious to this or didn't care in the slightest while he looked at the buildings. He went with the latter. He followed the man for a while until he walked into one of the abandoned buildings that was actually one of the bigger buildings in the suburbs. Jeruk was sufficiently surprised no one had taken residence in it but that thought quickly left his mind when he crossed the threshold and thoughts of his impending death came upon him. He quickly slumped to his knees hoping for a quick and painless death even though the guards were known for the opposite. Jeruk heard the footsteps stop in the middle of the room and turn around. However, he didn't see any of this since he kept his head downcast waiting for the oncoming torture.

He was mentally prepared for the oncoming pain and he wouldn't give any satisfaction to his capture by screaming. He knew they enjoyed the screams of others and he passed by a few buildings with chuckling men inside after a scream tore through the village. He was at least going to die with his pride and hoped to high heavens that the man wouldn't torture him for too long before getting bored and ending his life.

He was actually quite surprised that the man asked a question before beginning his torture but the tone he used didn't quell his nerves. "What do you expect me to do?" It made sense to Jeruk now. Assassins were not meant for full on physical abuse. They were sly and either quickly killed their prey or drove them into insanity without them being any the wiser. However, this torture wouldn't work any better than the one he originally thought he was about to get.

He sighed, once again coming to terms that he was about to die before stating in a determined voice, "I expect you to kill me, sir." He really just wished the man would just get it over with. But he knew this was part of the torture so he didn't let it affect him. He would allow the man to question him all day if the assassin liked and he would even start yelling at him to end it when he grew tired of the mind games.

"And why would I kill you?" Jeruk was perplexed and slightly raised his head, only enough to see the man's feet. He should already know this but once again put it down to assassin mind games. His memory of the law that was ingrained into everybody's minds came out of his mouth. "Because I shared my rations with another, sir." He really hated that law and if by some chance he ever got high enough to change laws, it would be his first one. He would then help the poor people in the suburbs by giving them better food that didn't have occasional poison samples in it.

He was brought back to his current, almost about to die, situation. "And what is your name?" Jeruk really didn't understand this type of torture. It seemed like the guy had no clue about anything and wanted information but needed Jeruk to think he was an evil person to get it. He didn't exactly know where that thought came from but his suspicion gave him the courage to raise his head and look the man in the eyes.

He gave a small gasp at the beautiful display of floating lights in his sea green irises. He had never seen those types of eyes before and his earlier suspicion was looking to be more true than false. He also didn't see any hatred in his eyes, just simple curiosity. That pretty much solidified his earlier assumption. However, he still wondered why the man played the bad guy.

He was once again broken out of his thoughts when the man repeated his earlier question. "And what is your name, good sir." Jeruk took a minute to recover from the 'good sir' comment and thought, 'Maybe I won't be killed today.' "Jeruk, sir," he said in a stunned voice but still with confidence that he wasn't about to be killed. However, he still didn't want to show any disrespect to the clearly higher up man so he stayed on his knees. He wondered why someone would visit the suburb area when he obviously had enough money to at least stay in the middle region. However, his earlier thought was soon answered.

"Well, Jeruk, I just arrived on this planet and decided to have a look around. I didn't particularly like looking around the slums so I decided I would like to help out a little. However, I would prefer not being the one known to help out and stay as a silent donator. So, I decided to look around for someone to be my distributer of my gift and I saw you handing out some of your rations to a little girl who looked like she desperately needed it. This concluded my search and I asked you to come with me." Jeruk was stunned speechless. Anyone arriving on the planet landed in the middle zone, not the lower zone. So that meant the man purposefully walked into the slums to give them a gift, which he was pretty sure was made illegal by those vile guards. However, the thought of a gift filled him with excitement. He knew he would share it with others because that was just who he was. However, even if he wasn't that kind of person, he probably would still do it in fear of the assassin watching him.

Now, he just wondered what the gift was. He didn't see any bulges in his cloak so it wasn't anything big. He highly doubted the man would give up his weapons so that was out of the question. So, what was it? He lowered his head out of respect and hoped he wasn't pushing his boundaries by asking, "And what is your gift, sir." The man didn't speak for a second and it worried him. He waited for the outburst or thrashing that he was so accustomed to when he got punished but was pleasantly surprised when the man spoke. "In two hours, I want you to come back to this building to retrieve your gift and do with it as you see fit. I expect you to share with others but that is up to you to decide." That proved his point that the guy would be watching him. "During the two hours, you can invite any of your hungry friends or family to partake in your gift and choose who to share the leftovers with once you're done."

Jeruk's brain paused at the hungry part of the sentence. His gift was food. The most prized possession on the lower level. The three basic needs were scarce and were the most expensive item on the market. It took everything anybody had to just get a meal a day. If their gift was food, then the man deserved to be bowed down to like a god. What made Jeruk look up to the man in an even better light was that he wanted to remain anonymous. If he showed his face to the people, the people would worship him and would do anything for him.

However, the man probably just didn't want to face the guards ... wait ... the man asked Jeruk about why he thought he was going to be killed. That meant the man didn't know about the guards killing people for sharing. And since Jeruk was picked out for sharing before Jeruk told the man it was against the law, that meant the man had plans to share food anyway. Anyway, even if the guards caught up to the man, he would probably slaughter the guards judging by his looks.

Jeruk beamed up at the man and did a bow of thanks. "Thank you!" The man was so happy he almost screamed out to the world his thanks. "I will invite everybody I know to partake with your gift." Right when the words came out of his mouth, he hesitated. That was very presumptuous of him to think the man was getting him that big of a gift. He was probably only going to give him enough to feed his family like he said. "Sorry, I am too presumptuous." It was silent for a second while he kept his head down in apology, hoping that he wouldn't get punished. He clearly crossed his boundaries and even a kind man could punish him for it. However, he hesitantly looked up when he heard mirth filled chuckling.

"I doubt you can invite enough people in two hours to partake in my gift unless you go shouting to the heavens about it." Jeruk's mind almost broke. He could invite a lot of people in two hours, even if he had to do it discreetly because of the guards. A blinding smile found its way on to Jeruk's face again and he said. "Oh thank you! I don't know what your gift shall be but any gift deserves thanks no matter how bad it is." This was going to be the best day of his life and most likely anyone else's who partakes in the gift.

The deal got even better when the man said, "Also, you don't have to worry about being caught. I will make sure no guards find out about you being involved. Now go and come back in two hours. Your gift will be waiting in the backroom." Jeruk thanked him profusely before heading out the door. He walked out with a blinding smile on his face and headed towards his house. When he finally got there, which was only a twenty minute walk, he saw his mother, father, three sisters, and two brothers eating there small, disgusting looking porridge.

He watched as his somber family look up and grow a confused look at Jeruk's blinding smile. He went over and picked up his younger sister before twirling her around in the air, making her spill her porridge. While her family had a horrified expression that what little amount of food they had grew smaller, Jeruk still had smile that nothing could wipe off. He hugged his sister and gave her a few quick kisses making her giggle and forget about how hungry she was. He held his sister on his hip and looked at the rest of the family.

"Everyone, I want you put down the porridge and come with me. I have a great surprise to show you and I believe you shall really enjoy it!" Jeruk said filled with exuberance. Jeruk still saw his family look at him with confused looks but he didn't allow them to ask any questions before pressing forward. "Now I know you are confused but you need to follow me. Along the way, I want you tell people you pass to meet near Old Jones house in two hours for a surprise." With that, Jeruk walked towards the door with his sister still on his hip. He walked outside soon followed by his confused family. However, Jeruk could tell that they would still do as he said even if they didn't know what exactly was going on which was fine with Jeruk.

It took about 1½ hours to walk back to house where Jeruk met the assassin. As he stood in front of the door with his family behind him, he grew a little nervous. What if he was tricked? What if he invited all these people and ruined his family's meals with nothing to show for it? People would hate him for getting their hopes up with his cheerful attitude that promised something good was about to happen.

However, after taking a quick glance at his now excited family, he drew up all his courage and walked inside. At first, dread filled him at the sight of the empty room until he remembered the assassin said the back room. His family walked right behind them and they all froze when they saw the door leading to the back room.

Preventing them from entering was a light layer of cloudy ice that looked so brittle that it would break with a single touch. Unless, that was what he was supposed to do. Jeruk hesitantly walked up to the ice and took a quick glance at his family. They didn't really look afraid since they thought this was planned. Jeruk gave them a small smile and turned around. He had waited two hours to see what was behind the ice and he was damn sure he was going to find out.

With his new confidence, he tapped the ice and it instantly shattered with the sound of breaking glass clattering against the floor. The first sense that triggered was their smell. Their noses instantly smelled the sweet aroma of fresh baked goods and it left them immotile as they tried to adjust to the pleasant and especially foreign smell.

The next sense that kicked in was sight. They opened their eyes after closing them from the sensational smell and stood immobile at the amount of food on the ice shelves around room. Jeruk hesitantly walked in and tried to comprehend what he was seeing. He expected a decent size meal that he could split with his family and some people he invited. However, what he got was enough food to feed three times as many people he invited.

On the shelves were hundreds of fresh baked bread that were at least twelve inches long with a nice light brown texture to them that most likely meant they were baked to perfection. Judging by the smell he agreed that the light brown color meant it was baked expertly. The entire family walked in and browsed the shelves with awestruck faces with his mother crying her eyes out in joy. He smiled at the amount of food in the room and watched as his sister on his hip reach out and picked up a loaf of bread.

They all watched her to make sure the bread was real and saw her take a bit out of the soft and fluffy bread. Her face turned into one of shock which quickly followed with a moan of pleasure. That triggered everyone in the room to grab a loaf and take a bite. When Jeruk took his first bite, he paused just like his sister as his taste buds flared at the new, exquisite taste of baked bread. He too moaned in agreement that the bread was the best food he had ever had.

After finishing the loaf, his mind started working again and knew the smell would start to get around and he had a job to do. "Mother, Father, I need help handing out the bread. The first people we invited should show up any second and we need to be ready." His statement brought the parents back to reality and they nodded. Jeruk and his father helped move the ice shelves to the center room so they could quickly and easily grab the bread and pass them out to everyone.

Jeruk smiled when he saw the first guests arrive and saw the bread. He gave them a blinding smile and held out a loaf. He watched as they stretched out a hesitant hand to grab the dreamy bread thinking it must be a dream for food of that quality to be in the slums. As more people came, the more awestruck and grateful faces Jeruk saw and he knew would always, no matter where he went, share his food to whoever needed it more than him. He was also a little surprised to not be accosted by guards.

Hey look! A chapter! Yeah, sorry about the very slow update. I also sent a message to all my followers saying I was going to update last night but I literally fell asleep writing the story I was so tired. So, yeah, sorry about that. Anyway, this is really like half a chapter I have written and I haven't quite finished the other part. However, I wanted to show I haven't forgotten about my lovely readers and I am still writing, even if at a much slower pace. Feel free to send me a message because I will most likely respond within the day. Or, just comment on the story, whichever you prefer. I hope to post the rest of this chapter by the end of this week but I make no guarantees, given how the last one worked out.

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	17. Beginning of a Revolution

Omega watched as the crowds gathered around the sweet smelling, but poor looking, house. He saw how genuinely happy Jeruk was to be helping the people and that brought a smile to Omega's face. He didn't appreciate how the severely underfed people were living in dirty rags. After admiring the good deed, Omega brought himself back to his latest job, looking for guards. It only took 20 minutes of waiting before he spotted a guard traveling with a decently big crowd heading towards the bread stand.

Now, Omega usually wouldn't exploit his very painful ability but he had two major reasons as to why he was going to use it. One, he really didn't like people who would kill another for sharing their already poor amount of food. Two, he didn't want to be seen in the crowd and be linked to the bread miracle. So, as the soldier was passing by an abandoned house, Omega willed the water in his body to make him walk into the house. After making him stand up against the wall, he froze water over his limbs to restrain his movements and also across his mouth because he didn't want him to warn the other guards that were about to join him.

After the day was over and all the bread was passed out and eaten, he gathered a total of three guards in his small little house. He jumped off his vantage point before preparing himself for what he was about to do. He needed to find out some answers and he hoped the guards would willingly give it to him. However, if they remained stubborn, he would have to help persuade them.

Omega walked into the building and three pair of eyes instantly latched on to him. One with pure fear, one with determination, and another with a little determination but mostly rage. Omega calmly walked in front of the three men and created an ice chair for him to sit on. Next, he froze an ice layer around the entire room to prevent anybody from prying or hearing what was going on inside.

The angry one on the left had a square shaped face with chiseled features with short brown hair and a burly mustache and beard. His eyes were a bright blue, bordering on teal. He looked like he could be a rather handsome man except for the nasty sneer that was currently on his face and showed no signs of leaving anytime soon. The guard on the middle had the same unruly hair style as Omega with black hair scattered in different directions but also looking quite good on him. His lean body type also looked like Omega except Omega had a little more muscle than him. However, his facial features were more refined with a sharp nose and high cheekbones that reminded him of a scholar. The one on the right was pretty small to be a guard and his shakiness didn't help him at all. He had short brown hair with matching brown eyes. Most people would actually call him cute rather than strong like a guard should be. Omega shook his head wondering how someone like him could become a guard.

After assessing each one, he unfroze their frozen gags and waited to see who spoke first. Unsurprisingly, the man with anger yelled first, "Who do you think you are, bastard! I demand you let us go this instant!" Omega just raised an eyebrow waiting to hear the one who was determined to speak. He would prefer they ask a question than yell at him.

Omega would flick his eyes to the determined one basically saying he was waiting on him to speak. Once the man caught on, he asked, "Who are you?" While his voice didn't crack or anything, Omega did hear the underlying fear in his question. Omega slowly stood up and stepped in front of the man who was trying to look calmly at Omega.

Omega answered honestly, "My name is Omega." He added a slight bow to it just to mess with them. Omega watched as the determined one's brow furrowed in confusion but Omega spoke before he could ask another question. "And what are your names?" He didn't want to have to keep saying the determined one or fearful one in his head.

The determined one spoke first in a calm tone, "Wizar." Omega gave a nod and looked towards the fearful one who jumped when their eyes locked. "J-J-Jah-hon," the young man stuttered. Omega knew he was going to save him for last. He turned his attention back to the angry one with a silent, 'and you.' The man just scoffed and said, "Rader." Omega thought their names sort of matched their personalities. The determined and calm one was wise to keep a level head and to not let any sensitive information get loose. The angry one's name sounded tough and Omega would have guessed that he had a strong personality, whether it would have been aggressive or just strong willed. Omega was glad Rader was the former. Jahhon sounded like a nice name. It didn't have any strong or sharp letters such as r's or z's. Omega guessed this guard had a good personality and Omega was surprised that he chose to be a guard. Unless, there weren't any other jobs available.

Omega chose not to be affected by the snide tone and continued his interrogation. Omega spoke in a teaching tone, "If you haven't figured this out yet, this is an interrogation." He paused to meet each of their eyes. "I will ask each of you questions and I expect them answered. One way or another I will get my answers so it would be in your best interests to answer them the first time I ask." Omega smiled an evil smile and sometimes he really hated his mask for blocking his guest's view of the undefined consequences of resistance.

Omega continued before Rader could make a, no doubt, useless comment. "First question: What is the name of this city?" Omega was met with silent confusion even from Jahhon who stopped his shaking for a moment. Omega smirked under his mask already laughing at the curveball he threw them. They most likely thought he would start with information about underground contrabands or something. Rader spoke first with amusement and incredulity, "Are you an idiot?!" Omega just rolled his eyes and pressed on. "Well?" He said impatiently. Wizar stayed silent just observing Omega, giving him a questioning look that most likely meant he was trying to figure him out. Jahhon looked scared again as his initial confusion disappeared. He looked like he was afraid he would answer the question wrong even though that must have been the easiest question that he would ever ask a guard in this city. Rader just rolled his eyes and said in a condescending tone, "Even idiots know the capital of Deraxe, Valos." He just muttered 'idiot' while Omega smiled. As long as he was getting answers he would allow Rader to underestimate him and think he was an idiot.

"Describe Valos for me." Rader groaned and must have forgotten that he was still stuck to a wall by ice. Usually hostages try not to anger their captors by looking at them with disgust; Omega guessed Rader thought he was an exception. Rader said in a bored drawl, "Valos is separated in three different sections known as districts. The best of the people are in the upper districts." He smirked in thought of the next comment. " _They_ are the ones keeping the mostly loving city in running order." Omega decided to keep his 'they' comment on hand for later questioning. "The middle district provides everyone with necessary supplies to live and the farmers own most of the northern section of the lower district to plant their crops." His voice soon became filled with disgust and a slight grimace appeared on his face. "The lower district is made up of bottom feeders who beg and whine to get what they want."

Omega just nodded his head already knowing what Rader thought of the lower district. "Many people, if not all, are skin and bones. What do they eat if they can't afford their food?" Rader smiled a malicious little smile and bragged about the slug they give them once a day. How they made it just barely edible. However, after he was finished he got a secret smile that made Omega narrow his eyes. "What's so funny?" The guy just chuckled a bit and said, "Nothin." Omega didn't believe him for one second. The man in front of him was a right, evil bastard who would take pleasure in torturing others and Omega suspected they put something in the food.

Omega slowly walked up to the sneering man and said, "I expect my questions to be answered truthfully the first time I ask." Rader was about to speak up and probably say something he shouldn't when Omega lightly touch his pointer finger against Rader's chest. Rader tensed at the unexpected action expecting pain while the scared one also sucked in a breath in anticipation of the screams. However, when Rader felt no pain, he loosened up and said, "Ha! It didn't work!" Omega let his hand fall back to his side and smirked. "I wouldn't be too sure about that." He said cryptically. "So I will ask again. What's so funny?" The guy just laughed this time not expecting any consequences and gave the same answer.

Omega smiled in anticipation, looking forward to seeing if his torture method worked. He focused on the very small ice particles he froze on the inner lining of Rader's veins. He willed them to detach and minimally grow. It only took a second for Rader to start to shift in discomfort of the strange feeling before the first ice crystal stabbed his veins. He tensed again and let out a quick breath of shock before grunting through the pain. More ice shards started to follow the example of the first causing much more pain. Rader's glare found its way to Omega but the pain was too much to keep it on his face. Jahhon started whimpering at the display of torture and Omega rolled his eyes at how weak he was. Omega was starting to really like Wizar, however. He hadn't shown a single display of emotion the whole time and Omega had to give him some props.

Omega let the crystals flow through Rader for a whole minute before he froze them on the lining of his veins for later use, already knowing he would probably have to do it again. Omega let Rader catch his breath before asking his question in an upbeat tone. "Well that was interesting. So back to where we started, what was so funny?" Rader spat at Omega's feet before yelling at him. "Only that we kill off as many of those parasites as we can by putting poison in their food every month! I don't understand why we don't do it every day because those leeches breed like mice and killing them off once a month barely contains them!"

It was deathly silent for a moment with the only movements in the room coming from Jahhon's shaking and Wizar's head slowly shaking back and forth. Omega let out a calming breath and said in an emotionless tone, "You put poison in people's food?" Rader, not realizing the situation he was in, rolled his eyes and said, "Well, duh. How else are we supposed to do population control?" It was silent for a second or two before the room was filled with screams from an extremely dense Rader. Omega stood there in silence as he willed the crystals to get bigger, shredding the inside of his body. Whenever a crystal tore out of his veins, Omega would push it along his other organs and skin. From anyone looking with an outsider's perspective, they could see bumps rising and falling across his skin from the ice trying to break through the tougher skin layer before falling smooth again.

All in all, it wasn't a pretty sight. Soon, the screams hit a peak before Rader fell silent, letting loose his final breath. Silence descended upon the now three person group. However, Jahhon wondered if Omega could even be a person from torturing someone like that. He already knew many guards were nowhere close to human with what they did to people. Of course, Jahhon never took part in those actions but he was guilty about allowing the wrongdoings of his fellow guards to continue. He hung his head feeling guiltier than ever.

Omega could tell Jahhon went through an inner turmoil which seemed to end in guilt. Omega didn't think Jahhon would have participated in the poisoning which probably meant he knew about it but let it keep going which, of course, was almost as bad as committing the crime. He walked in front of Wizar who didn't show any signs of fear at being addressed next. "I'm not going to make you reveal any dirty secrets. I will only ask questions that are facts so I think you would be willing to answer." The man stared at Omega for a couple of seconds before nodding his head.

Omega thought of any questions he could ask Wizar that Omega knew he would answer. "Are there any public services?" Omega was met with a slightly confused look so Omega clarified. "Like hospitals, parks, etc." Comprehension appeared on his face and he said in a deep but smooth voice, "There are plenty of ... public services in the upper and middle district. There is also a hospital in the northern section of the lower district."

Omega nodded his head. "Are there any rules the guards have to follow?" "No." That gave Omega pause though he wondered why that would surprise him if they were allowed to poison the people's food. Omega just rolled his eyes and muttered, "Well that's not asking for trouble."

Omega focused again and thought of some other questions. "Is there a curfew?" Omega already knew he was going to help these people so now he needed to get more details of the rules thrust upon them. Wizar nodded and replied, "Yes, at dark everyone has to be in their homes or they would face the consequences of being tardy." Omega nodded his head already making plans. He would have to dress as a villager and stay after curfew to find out what are the consequences. It would also reveal which guards were malicious and which were just regular guards just doing their job and enforcing the law. He planned to invade the guard stations and he didn't want to just slaughter everyone. The city would still need guards after he liberated it.

He knew for sure he would at least stay a year to help the city but he knew that would only be enough time to temporarily fix the lower district. He knew the people who made the rules would be in a higher district and could be quite difficult to reach. Omega didn't know for sure yet but he would most likely stay for more than a year to help Valos become a much better place with less corruption.

Omega rubbed his mask where his chin would be trying to think of another question. He remembered talking to Jeruk about not sharing rations and he was curious if that was a law or just something the guards enforced. "Why is there a no sharing rations rule?" Wizar responded, "That law was put into place to prevent the upper districts from coming down to the lower district and giving away free items. It also promotes the hard work of individuals. If their needs were taken care of by others, why would they work?" Omega could see how people who poison food coming up with that conclusion and wondered exactly who was running the government and creating those laws.

"So it's impossible to move between the districts?" That sounded like a ridiculous idea. "No, it is possible to move up a district but never voluntarily down. There are a couple ways to move up. One is to be invited up by impressing someone, usually the guards. Another is to gather enough money to provide a year's worth of living in the district above you without a job." Omega nodded thinking it was pretty much impossible for someone in the lower district to obtain enough money to move up. Additionally, Omega was almost positive the way to impress someone in a higher district or guards would not impress Omega in the same way.

Omega tried to think of some more questions but all he could think of were questions that Omega knew Wizar wouldn't answer. They just stared at each other in silence for a moment and Omega could tell that Wizar knew what was next. "Thank you for answering my questions but I believe you won't answer anymore will you?" Omega mainly added this so Jahhon wouldn't think he was just killing off Wizar. Jahhon probably wouldn't answer any of Omega's questions if he believed he was going to die anyway. Wizar nodded his head and let out a small breath of resignation. He, of course, knew what this interrogation would lead to right when it started and Omega commended him for keeping his cool and answering his questions in a respectful manner.

Omega nodded his head in acknowledgment and said, "You know the consequences for not answering my questions. However, since you answered my questions fully and respectively, I will grant you a quick and painless death." Wizar nodded his head in thanks before closing his eyes. Omega froze a thin layer of ice around his chin and behind his shoulder to break his neck. With a quick pop and a flinch from Jahhon, Wizar's body instantly became limp. Omega slowly moved in front of Jahhon and said, "You and I both know this will go over much smoother if you answer my questions _fully_ the first time I ask. I will promise you that if you do this, I won't torture you. However, if you fail to answer because you don't want to, let's just say it won't be pleasant, understood?" Omega smirked at Jahhon's rapid nods.

"Before I ask the first question, I want to say that if you lie to me, you will wish for death and I probably won't grant it until I am satisfied." Omega smirked under his mask thinking that inspiring a bit more fear in him couldn't hurt. He, of course, wouldn't torture someone that much even if Jahhon somehow did piss him off. "So, first question, who really runs the city?" Omega watched as Jahhon tensed at the already revealing questions. To Omega, it was pretty obvious that the government wasn't really running the system. Omega believed that they were the face of the law but not the brains. He waited patiently for Jahhon to find his wits and answer his question. Omega still didn't understand why he was getting so much enjoyment from this but his patience was slowly evaporating. Omega made a humming sound to show that he wasn't going to wait forever.

Jahhon sucked in a quick breath and nervously released it before speaking. "T-The upper district passes the laws." He took a quick breath and let it out slowly, apparently coming to terms with giving Omega information. "However, a gang really runs the government. They are pretty much the law and run the entire city how they please. Their base is believed to be located in the middle district but some also believe they are located in the upper district.

"No one knows where they are except for members and it's impossible for a member to leave with their life so they don't have a chance to give away the location. I heard that all someone has to do is show the slightest sign of wanting to leave to be killed." Omega appreciated his little, extra ramblings because it provided answers to some more of his questions without him having to actually ask them.

Omega started to think on what he would need to do to overthrow the gang and a few questions came up. "Where are the guard's quarters located?" Jahhon hesitated and Omega sighed, not very patient anymore. He willed the vapor in the air to condense into 3 ice cubes and twirled them around above his hand. Jahhon tensed but answered his question. "T-There are many guard stations located in the lower district. Most are located in the middle around 20 miles apart with several up against the wall connecting the two districts." Omega nodded his head thinking that was a smart, strategic set-up.

"What do the bases look like?" Omega watched as Jahhon slowly calmed down and didn't even stutter on his answer. "It's a one story building with a dash under the left window." Omega wondered for a second if a dash was meant to symbolize something but decided to disregard it for now unless it came up at a later date. "Where is the base inside the building?" It was pretty obvious to Omega that an entire base couldn't fit into a one story building without it covering a great expanse. Which Omega was almost positive that there weren't any large buildings in the lower district.

Omega saw Jahhon's reluctant answer and increased his blood pressure a little in warning. Jahhon tensed at the sudden, tight feeling before quickly answering, "Once you walk in it's through the first door on your right which has a hidden cellar where the base is located." Omega waited knowing there was more and slowly added small ice particles until Jahhon yelled, "Okay! Okay!" He released a breath full of relief when Omega stopped the flow of particles. "There is a door at the bottom with the password, fresh meat. Before saying the password, you have to knock twice, wait a second, then once more." Omega nodded and could tell he was telling the truth with his head down and guilty expression on his face. At first, Omega thought Jahhon was feeling guilty of selling out his friends but then Omega thought of the people who likely inhabited the base which Omega didn't think were friendly, at least most of them.

Omega couldn't think of another question to ask at the moment and knew it was time to end it. Omega felt a little sorry that Jahhon had to die to keep Omega's presence from being known. However, everyone knows the risks of becoming a guard so they should be prepared for these circumstances. After Omega nodded his head, he stared at Jahhon to see if he would figure out what came next. Apparently, Jahhon understood the meaning of the look and tensed up at first. Surprisingly, he soon let out a shaky breath of resignation and asked, "Make it quick, please." Omega nodded his head and Jahhon went up a couple of points in Omega's book. He may have been scared in the beginning but now he knew there was no escaping and didn't plead for his life. Omega froze water on Jahhon just like Wizar before snapping his neck.

Omega stood there assessing his situation and what he should do next for a couple of minutes. He decided he might as well check out the mid district to get a lay out of the city. Omega didn't really think he needed one for the lower district since it was all slums and farms so he wasn't even going to worry about it. Omega walked over to Wizar and decided it would be great to have a guard's uniform to sneak around the city. Wizar had pretty much the same body type as Omega so it should be at least a close fit. After storing the clothes in his tent, he walked out of the small building. He looked around to the still buzzing crowd and Omega could see small pieces of bread being passed. It made Omega smile to see that the townspeople looked after each other.

Omega walked down the street admiring how much one single, generous act could make difference. He walked for a couple of hours and finally reached the wall. It was a pure, stone grey wall that shot up 30 feet high. Omega thought the height was slightly excessive but he didn't know if there was a more defensive purpose with the high walls. He walked along the wall for thirty minutes until he came upon a guard station. This one was two stories high and quite big with a gate connecting the two districts. There were a few guards patrolling the lower district side of the gate but couldn't see any on the middle district side. Omega assumed that they thought nobody would want to willing enter the lower district so why pay guards to patrol somewhere where they weren't needed?

Omega simply mist traveled to the other side unnoticed and continued his journey in the middle district. There was definitely a drastic difference between the two districts with the main one being the cheery families rooming around. Omega saw one father and son talking amicably between each other and a pang entered his chest. He hadn't thought his father or step-father in a very long time. He never knew how much he missed them or wished to spend more time with them until seeing those two together. It also sent another pang of longing for his daughter, but he knew that she would always have a loving father out in the universe unlike himself. He quickly shook himself out of his daydreams and started to explore the middle district. Omega had a feeling something was going to happen soon and he at least wanted as much information as he could gather before whatever he was feeling came to pass. 

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Hey everybody! Sorry for the late posting but here it is. However, I got some news that you guys probably won't like. My family and I are going on a vacation soon that will last about two weeks. So, that means I will have little to no time to write. Anyway, other than that I don't think I have any other news. See you guys later and wish me safe travels! XD


	18. Beginning of a Friendship

Omega took a total of three days to explore and pinpoint certain locations to either stay away from or use as an escape route. There weren't as many guards as there was in the lower district which Omega assumed was because of the low crime rate. However, he talked to many people while exploring and learned a fair amount of things about the gang. It really helped that his assassin garb made people a little nervous which resulted in them willingly giving all the information they knew the first time Omega asked. It didn't even matter if he was in a public location with many witnesses.

During a late summer night, he was mapping out another possible shortcut he could take to weave his way through the city when he heard some quiet yelling coming from an alley followed by the slight _tang_ of metal getting drawn out of its holster. He slowly made his way over to the alley and looked along the street to see if anybody was walking around the street or peeping out of their window. Omega wasn't too surprised to see the street deserted since most of the people probably heard the scuffle and just turned the opposite direction.

Omega stuck his head around the bend and saw three men blocking the exit that the one guy in the corner was probably wanting to leave. Admirably, the one guy had a confident stance even though he was outnumbered. However, Omega had become pretty skilled at reading people over the years and he could tell that the guy didn't believe he was going to make it out alive. The eyes are a gateway to the soul as they say ... Omega remembered hearing that from somewhere and he pretty much agreed with it, and it also made him sound philosophical.

The guy only had a knife to defend himself with while the three men had incomplete sets of armor that looked to be lightweight armor that usually is worn when dealing with a quick skirmish and a smooth getaway. They also had short swords and knives unsheathed and pointed at the lone man. Omega honestly thought they were assassins judging by the outfits but the three looked to be lazy assassins judging by their size and stature. The middle one was on the skinny side and looked to have very little muscle mass. Even though Omega couldn't see his face, he would say he had pinched features that would not go on Omega's good looking list. The two guys on his side were a little on the chubby side of the spectrum and probably didn't have much stamina. All in all, he would just barely qualify them as assassins. However, they held there weapons with a practiced hand that showed around a year's worth of experience.

After assessing the situation, he focused on the actual conversation to glean some information from them. The skinny man said, "I can't believe you thought you could avoid us. You know that we always catch deserters like you within the day no matter how skilled at stealth you are, Darek." Darek rolled his eyes and said in a confident tone, "It doesn't matter if you caught me or not. I could easily escape from a couple of low lives like you." Omega smirked agreeing with Darek but Omega could detect a hint of worry in Darek's voice.

"Whatever you say, newbie. You shouldn't have joined if you couldn't handle it." With that, the three men pointed their weapons at Darek and were about to charge before Omega decided to intervene. Omega stepped into the alley, scuffing his feet to make sure he was heard. Darek's and the three guards' eyes instantly locked onto Omega. Darek had a look of surprise and confusion at the unknown player and the three guards just sneered at him. "Leave now if you know what's good for you, short stuff." Omega rose an eyebrow at the nickname and chuckled a little.

"Short stuff ... don't think I've been called that before. Anyway, I think the odds are a little unfair so I decided to make sure one side wins." Even though they couldn't see it, they knew the masked man had a smirk under his mask and were surprised to feel a chill run up their spines. However, the skinny guard decided to ignore his instincts and antagonized the deadly looking guy even if he was short. "We don't need your help to win this and even if you helped the swine over there it wouldn't make a difference. It's obvious that you dress up to look tough and spew a few intimidating words to get what you want. I bet you couldn't even face the lowest of scum in the lower district."

Omega's features grew cold at the mention of the 'scum' in the lower district, leaving the group in utter silence that made the two bigger guards take an involuntary step back. The middle guard looked at his support and rolled his eyes. "You two attack him at once while I kill the other one. Like I said, he is all talk so hurry up. When you're done you can help me torture little ole Darek over there." The two guards smirked in the anticipation of torture and Omega decided he would make them suffer a little before he dispatched them. Omega took out his silver sword and got into a lazy ready stance. He didn't even need to move his body to take care of them.

Omega watched as the skinny guard charged Darek. He knew Darek had enough skill to beat him so he focused on the two other guards who charged him. Right before they reached him, he pulled the moisture out of their mouths and throat to prevent any loud sounds escaping their mouths to alert the other guard. He wanted to watch and see Darek fight to get a better representation of him. At once, both guards faltered at the lack of moisture in their mouths and Omega capitalized.

He lunged in between them and cut one of the guard's Achilles tendon and spun around to open up a gash across the other's thigh. They both went down with quiet shouts of pain but Omega wasn't quite done with them. He froze ice over their sword handles and pushed them to the side so they lost all hope of winning the fight. Omega walked in between the guards and just shook his head at how pathetic they were. They were still lying on the ground moaning over their injury that honestly wasn't that bad. He hated people that them who used their authority or numbers to do whatever they wanted to the defenseless.

Omega drew his other sword and stabbed both of them in the stomach. He waited a couple seconds for them to have a taste at what they most likely have done to many others before he stepped forward and slit their throats. He paused for a second watching as the life drained out of the two men. He really wished there weren't people like them. While it makes Omega's blood boil to torture for pleasure, it irks him even more when people let other people detain someone and only participate in the 'fun' part. They don't work to train their skills and just get by with the skills they got.

Omega just shook his head and was brought out of his thoughts at the clang of metal. He turned around to see the two battling it out and Omega could instantly tell the skinny guy was out of his league and it even looked like Darek was humoring him a little. Omega smirked at how much the guy's attitude changed when he wasn't facing three of them and also knowing that he could beat the one guy.

Omega watched as Darek blocked an incoming strike and returned with an upward slash that opened up a deep gash across his opponent's thigh. He fell to one knee in pain but soon felt no pain when Darek beheaded him with the guys own sword. It was silent for a moment before Darek looked hesitantly at Omega who was just leaning against the wall watching. Darek fidgeted a little before saying, "Umm, thanks for helping me." He looked to the side nervously and Omega could tell that he had no clue what he was supposed to do next since Omega was standing at the exit.

Omega was at least glad that he didn't start fighting him or trying to run away. That would have caused problems and Omega would prefer not to tie him up. Omega nodded his head and said, "You're welcome." Omega just stared at Darek wondering what he would say next. He looked to be around 25 years old but Omega knew you couldn't judge age by appearance. Heck, he was over 100 years old but only looked 18! He continued to study Darek's features. He had silky brown, shoulder length hair that was tied back into a braided ponytail. His eyes were a molten silver color that really were exquisite. He had some sharp facial features mixed with rounded cheeks. He had a lean body like Omega which was lightly muscled. All in all, Darek looked like a much better assassin than those three guards. He also observed how Darek's sword was still out and pointed towards his direction in a non-threatening manner, but easily accessible should he need it.

Omega decided to give him a break and asked, "You want to tell me what that was all about?" While he did ask a question, he asked it in a tone that basically said Darek better answer it. He watched as Darek fidgeted a little and Omega just sighed. "I have no intention to hurt you. What it sounded like was you left their gang, which they didn't appreciate. Now, I would be most delighted if you would explain what gang." Omega changed his strategy to make Darek answer simple answers.

It still took Darek a few seconds to answer but he finally spoke up after letting lose a deep breath. "It ... really isn't a gang. It is more like ... um ... a guild really." Omega could tell he didn't want to associate himself with the guild and Omega was almost positive he knew why. Going by what he heard from Jeruk, the government was run by a gang, or guild now, that had a no leaving policy which sounded very similar to what he just witnessed with Darek. So Darek would answer his questions, Omega decided he would alleviate his fears by telling him he already knew about the guild.

"If the guild you left is the one that practically runs the government then I already know about it and strongly dislike it. So, if you left I would like to know the reason why. Who knows? Maybe we could work together to take it down." Omega paused after he made that offer. It had been a long time since he hadn't done a mission solo and he wondered why he would change that now with someone he didn't even know.

Omega just shrugged it off and, now that he thought about it, was looking forward to it. Working alone had its advantages but a partner adds a new element to the fight. Having a partner provides a dependable ally when one's skills weren't enough, and they are a constant motivation to work harder. If alone, one only has to worry about oneself. All in all, Omega was glad he made the offer. It was about time he worked on a team.

Omega watched as Darek relaxed somewhat and was hoping that he would be a little more open. "Yeah. I left those monsters. I joined thinking they were a group who helped the poorer people of the city but I was mistaken. I trained with them for a year before they sent me on my first mission. It started out in the middle district. I was assigned to steal from the wealthy upper classmen and give the money to the leader. He made me believe he would distribute the money to the public. You see, every person I stole from was a part of the corrupt government. So, I thought I was helping the city by taking away from rich and giving to the poor. However, there were a few inconsistences that I found suspicious so I decided to investigate. It didn't take any time at all to find out the gold was just circulating within the group.

"However, someone must have saw me snooping and gave me away. The very next day, I fled from headquarters when I overheard a plan to kill me. I lasted several weeks on the run but there are too many of them to escape forever. I was lucky you came along or else I would have been mincemeat." Darek said with a worried smirk like he was trying to make himself laugh. Omega could understand his situation. He thought he was being Robin Hood instead of a common thief.

Omega nodded and said, "Well then, I don't blame you for your deeds. You didn't know what you were doing and you left right when you did figure it out. So, you know where their headquarters is right?" Omega stopped for a second and thought about how easy it was going to be to figure out where the supposed elusive headquarters are. He guessed he just got lucky running into Darek.

Darek looked at him a little funnily and said, "Yeah but I'm not going back without an army. That is what it would take to bring them down." Omega just smirked under his mask thinking it would take armies to bring him down. But, alas, Omega didn't relay that major bit of information and just said, "You'd be surprised to see what some people are capable of. Do you have somewhere that we could talk? I believe we could figure something out."

Darek looked at him warily but apparently must have decided he was trustworthy when he nodded ... or was just too scared to deny. Omega stepped aside and swept his hand in a 'lead the way gesture' before following Darek down the road.

As Omega and Darek walked down the street in comfortable silence, both thought over their different finds. Omega was pleasantly surprised to find someone who escaped the guild's clutches and knew where their base was when it was supposed to be impossible to find. As he looked at Darek, he noticed that he had a smooth walk but saw through his calm facade to see his slight nervousness. Who wouldn't be nervous of a man in a mask and cloak who said lead the way even if he was walking beside him. Omega was also glad that it was dark out so people wouldn't see him with the 'escapee.'

Darek, on the other hand, thought this Omega character was crazy to want to take down the entire guild with just the two of them. He wouldn't say it was impossible since he didn't know the skill sets of Omega but he imagined there was a .000001% chance. Pretty much, no chance. However, he would at least hear him out, and if they couldn't do it by themselves, there were a few groups out there that would be willing to join them in taking down the guild.

First, he would have to assess Omega and ask for a demonstration of his skills and would most likely have to reciprocate the request to show Omega what he could do. Second, they could start planning on what they wanted to do. If Omega was willing to watch his back, he could start to copy down the layout of the sections of the base he was allowed entry. He could also add in details such as preferable points of entry and an estimate of guards around certain areas. Third ... well, he would just have to wait and see what they came up with to create a third point.

As to not gather any extra attention, it took around an hour of leisurely walking to make it to his very small home base. It was a small wooden building against the wall between the lower and middle district. On the south east side of the wall, it was common to see these types of houses since most people who came up from the lower district find their way to the corners of the middle district. Anyway, most people avoid these parts of town since the poorer residents resided there and it suited an escapee like him just fine.

As Darek and Omega entered the nondescript building, a few small torches instantly lit and Omega was surprised to see something like that in these houses. However, of course, he didn't show any of his surprise, at least, not in his body manner for people to pick up on. There was a bed in one corner with a table and chairs in another. A small campfire had a few red coals in the middle indicating that it was still cooling. He wondered where the smoke went but as he looked at the ceiling the answer revealed itself. The roof was slightly raised towards the center with a 2 inch hole that would allow the smoke to escape.

There really wasn't anything else in the room since he assumed most of Darek's stuff was in his pack. Omega walked over to the chair and sat down waiting to see what Darek would do or ask first since Omega was technically in his home. Darek put his bag down beside the table and sat down across from Omega and began explaining his plan.

"So, I don't know how you plan to infiltrate the base and take down the guild so you'll have to show me something that could convince me it is possible. If not, we could probably gather enough support to strike at the guild. However, there is a reason that it has stayed strong for so long. There are many people loyal to the guild and are extremely talented. The only way I can see taking down the guild would be to take down their supporting beam, Leader Dranogod, which I would say is impossible since you would have to find your way through the base while fighting skilled guild members the entire way. Also, disturbing their nest would most likely cause other side effects that could potentially hurt the entire city. So, if we do this I need to make sure that we can do it or it wouldn't be worth it."

Darek looked straight into Omega's eyes to see if he could tell what the guy was thinking but got lost in their depth. There was no fear in his eyes or even the slightest bit of nervousness. There wasn't even confidence in there. It was like he knew the outcome before the battle even started. Darek had always prided himself on being able to read people but he must be wrong on this Omega character because who wouldn't be nervous about taking down an entire guild almost entirely by yourself. However, as he looked into his eyes, it was like he started to believe that they could do this even if there was only two of them. A hope that the city could finally be disposed of those criminals and become one of the best out there entered him and he suddenly believed that they could do it. They could be the ones to liberate the city.

Omega patiently waited as Darek studied him after his little spiel and watched as he apparently found something in Omega that gave him the confidence that they could pull this heist off. He didn't know what look he had in his eyes that lead to that belief but, hey, he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Darek nodded his head and continued with his plan with a new excitement. "Alright, I have to go get some parchment so I can start to map out the base to the best of my knowledge. Of course, as we search for Dranogod we will have to find a way around the guards because we simply can't just kill them since we don't have a way to hide the bodies even if we can kill them." He paused for a second to think things over and take a breath. He locked eyes again with Omega and once again saw the same look in his eyes that he was unconcerned about it. He was about to ask why he still seemed unconcerned but Omega beat him to it.

"I have ways to get around that if we can figure out their shifts. Keep going with your plan." Darek almost sputtered but he just decided to roll with it. "Okay, so if we can find a way around the guards then it is simply just finding the leader. They don't have any traps that I am aware of so I don't think we need to worry about that. If we can get around the guards then I think all we need is time." Omega nodded his head and both descended into silence.

Darek was still wondering what Omega meant about getting around the guards just by knowing their shifts. That may work on the outside where they could slip by them but there were many guards inside the base that would have to be disposed of without raising the alarm. That seemed pretty much impossible so Darek was waiting on Omega to elaborate.

Omega was wondering how he could prove that they could do this just with the two of them without revealing too much. He knew for sure he would have to reveal his water and fire manipulation with Darek with his idea about the bodies. However, he would make sure Darek assumed he had limited control over those abilities. He had to keep some secrets to himself; he just met the man.

Darek started to grow impatient and interrupted the silence, "So are you going to explain your ideas about the bodies?" Omega smirked under his mask and stood up. Darek straightened his posture and warily watched Omega to see what he would do. He would prefer not to be the example of what he would do with the bodies.

Omega said in a teaching tone, "I have a couple of abilities that would prove very useful in this circumstance. So, I'm going to tell you what they are and I want you to try and figure out what we could do, got it?" Darek just nodded but couldn't hide his curiosity of the upcoming show. Omega jus smirked and said, "First, I have the ability to manipulate water." To prove it, he put a finger on the desk and froze an inch ice circle. Darek stared in awe at the small amount of power Omega showed. "Now, let's say I walk up to a guard we just killed. What could we do to make it look like he was never killed?"

Darek rubbed his chin trying to think. "Could we freeze water around him to make him stay straight?" Omega nodded and said, "That's the right train of thought but wouldn't people passing by see ice around the person?" Darek nodded his head and said, "What about freezing the water under his clothes?" Darek was sure he got the right answer this time but Omega just slightly nodded his head like he did the first time. "That would work, but think deeper. Here's a hint. When you kill someone, they usually bleed correct? So what would we do about the blood?" Darek just stared at Omega with confusion. "But blood isn't water so you couldn't manipulate it, right?"

Omega just chuckled and said, "Blood has water molecules in it even if it is diluted. So, as long as I focus, I can manipulate blood." Darek nodded thinking that was very cool until the idea fully settled itself into his brain ... Omega could virtually control him since he had blood running through his veins. Omega pretended not to notice the new wariness with his partner and continued on while trying to relieve his worries. "So, as long as I make contact with the body, I can freeze the blood in him to make him stand like he was alive."

Omega watched as some of the wariness left Darek when he said he had to make contact but, of course, some of it was still there. Satisfied for now, Omega said, "The other ability that will come into play is fire manipulation." With that, he opened his palm and created a small fire that was slightly bigger than a candle flame. "Now, say we froze the body in a standing position. What else would we have to do to make it look like nothing was wrong?"

Darek, though still wary, got back into his contemplative mode. He tried to think about what he would see if he walked pass a guard frozen standing up. "We could probably leave his arm joints unfrozen in case someone bumps into him." Omega nodded and said, "True, true." Darek tried to think of more things knowing Omega was waiting for him. He visualized the scene in front of him and looked right into the eyes of the guard to see if he could glean any hints. "OH! The eyes! If you look a dead person in the eyes then you would know they were dead." Omega nodded and said, "What do you think we could do with both my abilities to hide that fact."

Well, Darek was stumped there. Omega couldn't manipulate the eyes directly and couldn't just cover them up ... or could you? The tunnels would be dark but some of the guards still wore glasses ... which ... hid their eyes. Now focusing on that train of thought, he tried to put together the pieces. Omega could probably fashion some ice glasses but they would be clear or at the best murky. However, Darek knew that the fire manipulation played some part in the equation. He tried to think of what factor it could possibly be but for the life of him he couldn't figure it out. "Alright, I give up."

Omega chuckled a little. "Well, I would use my water manipulation to freeze the water into glasses." He waited a second already knowing Darek came up with that part and enjoyed watching the man's ire rise. Omega inwardly chuckled again before continuing. "I would use my fire manipulation to burn some of his garments to ashes. Then, I would mix the ashes with the water to create black glasses that would resemble sun glasses." Omega was actually pretty proud of that idea. It just came to him before he started quizzing Darek.

Darek, for the most part, had a look that basically said, 'Oh.' To keep the ball rolling Omega asked if there was anything else he could think of. Darek couldn't really think of anything else so he just shrugged. Omega inwardly sighed knowing his fun was over so he just told Darek. "Another small factor to be aware of is that the mouth would hang open since the guards muscles wouldn't work. Even if it was closed when we look at him, it could still be a delayed release because he clenched his jaw before he died thus keeping the muscles taut. So simply freezing the teeth together would solve that problem. I liked your idea of the joints. I didn't think of that." Omega also privately thought it would be easier to control the person too if he needed him to move.

Darek nodded his thanks. He was really warming up to Omega and, so far, would say that they may become friends sometime in the future. Just like him, Darek could tell that Omega had both a friendly and serious side. Darek wondered what Omega would act like in a battle to the death because that was when real character shines. Hopefully, neither of them would find out anytime soon because Darek would not like to be trapped between armed guards in the guild.

Coming out of his musings, Darek stood up and said, "Well, I'm going to get some paper and writing utensils from a shop. I should be gone for a couple of hours so you can stay here or wonder around if you want even if I wouldn't recommend it since it's dark out." With that, he turned around to walk out but Omega said, "Wait a second. I have something for you." Darek watched as Omega carried his backpack on one shoulder before slinging it near an empty corner. Darek was surprised to see a tent pop into view but wasn't really _that_ surprised knowing Omega. As Omega got into his tent, he wondered what he was about to be given. They just met so it wouldn't be anything special or expensive and he couldn't think of anything really.

Omega walked out of the tent with two throwing knives that could also be used as dagger if need be. Darek was also impressed with the quality of the blades. They were sharp with dark green, threaded fabric across the handle with a circle at the end. He imaged spinning it on his finger like people do with canes and wondered what people would think about that while in public. They would probably be afraid he was about to kill them and guards would come and confiscate them ... he decided he wouldn't try it out.

He was once again brought out of his daydreams when Omega pushed the knives into his hands. He felt a slight tingle run up his arms and knew magic was at play and it made him wary again. He shot Omega a questioning glance and was glad Omega gave him a straight answer. "I had extra knives enchanted to return to the caster when they lose their kinetic energy. So, if you throw the knife, once it embeds into a target, it will come back to you since its momentum stopped." Darek stared at Omega surprised that he was given such an expensive gift. The knives themselves would be a decent price but the magic applied to it would have probably cost a small fortune.

Darek looked back at Omega and once again looked into his eyes. Now they were filled with warmth that really affected Darek. He had never really been given gifts like this before and for a complete stranger to come around and give him something like this, it really meant a lot to him. He decided from that moment onward he would trust Omega and repay him for his kindness. If Omega was willing to invest his time and money with him then he would make sure it was worth it. He wouldn't fail Omega. He now had a reason to fight and he wanted to make Omega proud to be his friend.

Darek smiled and said, "Thank you. You have no idea how much this gift means to me. I will make sure to take good care of them." Omega laughed to Darek's confusion and said, "You could probably throw them at rocks and they wouldn't even get a scratch. There are impervious to blunt force damage, rust, stains, and pretty much anything else that could affect the knife." Darek was once again left dumbfounded at the gift. It was worth even more than he thought it was before that bit of information.

Darek gave another warm smile and said, "Well I'll always have it on me. Thanks again. I should probably go get the parchment before dawn breaks. I bet there are a couple of guards who are looking for me along with the guild members." Omega nodded and wished him luck. Darek quietly walked out of the house into the brisk night air. He stealthily made his way through the district jumping from shadow to shadow to his destination. All the while thinking of the great adventure Omega and him were about to partake.

5400/76600

A Chapter! A Chapter! XD Hey guys! I know I have been slacking lately so I would like to apologize for the extremely slow update. Lately I have lost the inspiration for writing this adventure and it just wouldn't come back to me. I can't believe it took sitting in class for inspiration to hit me. Well, anyway, here is another chapter and I hope you enjoy! I would also like to thank the people who have stuck with me so far and hope you stay. I don't plan to give up this story anytime soon so I can guarantee there will be more updates to come.


	19. A Familiar Story

Hey Guys! Another chapter for you and I hope you enjoy it! Sorry for the extremely slow updates but real life is kicking me in the butt ;) I'm now a full-time college student and was elected to become a Senator At-Large in SGA. Plenty of work comes with that and I even have office hours! Crazy huh? Anyway, I'll stop talking now and let you enjoy the story!

As Darek was walking back home from his shopping trip, a wave a delicious smelling food hit him. It actually made him pause for a second in surprise because he couldn't believe anybody in this area could afford something that delectable. So, Darek was completely baffled when he reached his house which turned out to be the origin of the smell. He numbly pushed open the door to find Omega sitting at the table eating a mouthwatering piece of meat with veggies on the side. However, his attention soon focused on a plate of the same amazing looking food across from Omega.

He slowly made his way to his seat, aware of each small step he took, and sat down a little numbly. He looked up at Omega in confusion and wondered if this was for him because this couldn't possibly be another gift. Omega watched as a dumbfounded Darek made his way to his seat in bemusement. He was looking forward to all the times he planned on getting that look from him, and Darek didn't know it yet, but he was going to have that look many times.

Omega decided to take pity on the man and said, "Are you going to eat?" Omega smirked at the slight shock on his face and actually chuckled when Darek picked up the fork and just stared at his food. Just to tease him further, Omega said, "You use the fork to stab your food and put it into your mouth." Darek halfheartedly glared at Omega, not being able to put much effort into it, before cutting himself some juicy steak.

Omega smiled as he watched Darek's eyes flutter closed as Darek's taste buds sang in joy. He could tell that Darek hadn't had any flavorful food in a long time so he felt really good about allowing Darek to enjoy such a simple meal from him. They ate in silence for the next 10 minutes just enjoying the meal, albeit, one more than the other. As they finished up, Darek said, "Alright, so if you can make sure guards stay away from the house or warn me ahead of time, I can start constructing the guild's layout. Can you do that?" Omega simply nodded.

"Good." Darek cleared off the table and spread out parchment while Omega started to walk to the door. Darek said over his shoulder, "This should take a few hours so I'll see you then." Omega waved behind him and yelled, "Gotcha!" Darek turned around and got to work making his plans while Omega took position outside, hidden to those around him.

~~~Three & Half Hours Later~~~

Omega had to distract a couple of suspicious individuals who looked like they were snooping around but otherwise had no problems. Darek, meanwhile, was inside and surprised by how much he remembered of the base. He was able to fully cover the entrance level, three quarters of the second level and a quarter of the third level.

Darek didn't know when Omega was coming back inside since it passed three hours so he walked outside and looked around for a second. When he didn't see Omega, he went back inside and decided he would just have to wait for him. However, only seconds after he went back inside, Omega also entered. Darek was a little surprised that he didn't see Omega if it only took him a couple of seconds to see him, come out of his hiding place, and then make it to the door.

Darek just shrugged and was surprised that he was already getting used to Omega's ways. He motioned Omega towards the table with spread out maps and information sheets so they could go over his plans. "So the first floor is comprised of offices, the new recruit information center, and other smaller organizations that make up or help the guild. There is a certain ventilation route we could take to get around everybody without being seen or heard which would deposit us at the end of the hallway next to the stairs. Once the coast is clear, we can jump out and head down the stairs deeper into headquarters.

"Here comes the trickier part. The second floor is pretty much where all the members hang out and plan their heists. So, we'll have to be especially careful not to be seen. If we are lucky, we could get by without being seen but I doubt it. So, we'll have to play it by ear when we can dispose of certain people without being seen. However, there are plenty of side rooms and closets on this floor to hide bodies so I don't think we will have to use your abilities.

"The third floor is the records department and where I suspect the leader to be. I haven't seen any stairs that lead down but like the map represents, I have only seen a quarter of the level. This is the level where stealth is key. How good are you at throwing knives or darts or whatever long range weapon?"

Omega replied, "I have practiced throwing knives for many years and am unlikely to miss up to 50 yards away." Darek was actually a little surprised at that level of skill and was definitely glad to have Omega with him. Now that he actually thought about it, he was technically the strategist in this arrangement while Omega was the muscle. Which was quite funny compared to four inch height difference.

Darek nodded and continued. "Good. I don't think many people walk by each other on the third floor but I know quietness is a key component to their security. If there is too big of a sound they will check it out so we will have to do our best to keep quiet as we deal with the guards."

Omega nodded and said, "Sounds like a plan. So I'll study the map for a bit to become familiar with the layout." Omega looked at the map and asked a couple questions about some of the markings. Darek explained how the dots are the guards located around the base while the thinner lines are the doors.

After feeling pretty confident about his memory, they started hashing out plans. Omega said, "So we can attack tonight as they most likely already found the dead assassins and sent more after you. This will take out a good chunk of their men that would have just been lazing around the area. We can use the west entrance since they will most likely stay around the east side. It shouldn't be too hard to enter the base if we wait for someone to open it and silently follow him inside."

Darek pretty much agreed with that plan so he said, "Well, let's get prepared and leave tonight." Both of them smirked slightly in anticipation of the night and couldn't wait to get started. The rest of the day went by slowly just like every other day does when waiting for something.

As dinner approached, Darek and Omega could be found sitting at the table enjoying a beverage before the night raid. Omega noticed Darek kept discreetly looking at him like he was debating on telling him something but couldn't make up his mind. They talked most of the day and got to know each other better but nothing significant was purposely discussed.

To start the ball roiling, Omega initiated the conversation after it went into silence. "So, Darek, what made you choose to come to Valos?" This wasn't too personal of a question but apparently he struck a chord in Darek when he stiffened. Omega looked a little confused and wondered if he somehow guessed what Darek was debating talking about.

Darek rubbed the back of his neck and let out a deep breath. "I actually came to this planet to escape in a sense." He looked at Omega trying to figure out how much he could tell. He felt like he could trust Omega but he had never told anyone about this. However, it looked like Omega was starting to trust him more. He now only had the mask on with the cloak around his shoulders instead of hiding his whole face. He could see messy black locks and thought it actually suited his personality nicely.

He shook his head and focused back on the task. "Before I came here I was part of an army. We were a pretty talented group and fought well together. However, during one of our missions, I was on my own clearing at a slave area when I came across an enemy. He taunted me a little bit and accused the army of doing things that go against what we fought for. After I disposed of him and went back home, my thoughts kept going back to what he said and it really got on my nerves.

"So, I decided to look around and prove that he was lying. However, instead of finding nothing, I found some of what he was talking about. At first I couldn't believe what my eyes were seeing and I denied it vehemently for a while. Soon, though, I came to terms that there was a faction of the army that dealt in illegal dealings.

"I grew angry at them that they were using me to help fulfill their deeds. This lead to my greatest mistake: I got into contact with the enemy." Darek hung his head a little bit and waited for Omega to leave or start yelling at him for his betrayal. However, when he looked up, Omega was still sitting there waiting for him to finish his story. With renewed spirits of Omega giving him a chance, he continued.

"After months of planning, we set up a trap for the army. I was walking along the hallway of the enemy base before the army got there when I overheard a conversation between the leaders." He paused for a second to take a breath. "I overheard them bragging about what a good find they had in me and basically laughed at how naive I was to believe false documents in the archives that one of their spies placed.

"I admittedly went back to where the army was supposed to land to warn them. However, they must have figured out it was a trap and that I sold them to the enemy and they came prepared. I quickly turned around and barely escaped with my life and left on a one of the enemy ships.

"I later found out that the entire base was decimated and destroyed down to rubble. They didn't even look through half the building before one of the elites who came with them blew it up. I guess they suspected I died in the building since there weren't any search warrants out for my arrest so I was lucky."

He finished telling his story and kept his head down waiting for Omega to leave or attack him or anything really. The last thing he suspected was for Omega to ask a question. "Do you regret it?" Darek paused for a second trying to process it before he came back to himself and guessed he should probably answer. "Yes." He looked up just in time to see Omega nod. "Would you change your decision to help the enemy?" Darek stared at Omega in confusion thinking that was pretty much the same question but decided to just answer it. "Yes."

Omega nodded his head and got up. Darek hung his head again thinking that Omega was going to leave now but all Omega did was say. "As long as you regret it then I don't see what's got you so down. Nobody was hurt any more than a regular raid on a base and it even sounds like they came even more prepared than normal. Also, with you setting up the trap, many of the enemies probably didn't prepare at all thinking your trap would take care of the army. All in all, I would say that while what you did wasn't good, good did come out of it in the end. I'll go make some dinner real quick and we can eat before heading out."

With that, Omega walked into his tent and started 'cooking,' leaving a dumbfounded Darek still at the table. Darek stared off into space thinking over Omega's words as it slowly started to sink in. He never thought about that even though he became a traitor to the army, they still were able to overcome the slight and turn it into their advantage. A great weight all of the sudden lifted off his shoulders as his guilty conscious went away.

It only took Omega a couple of minutes to come back out with steaming plates of delicious food. They ate in comfortable silence for ten minutes until Darek couldn't hold back his question anymore. Darek swallowed his food and said quietly, "How can you be so forgiving? I betrayed my companions. Aren't you worried that I would do the same to you?"

Omega looked up and studied Darek for a couple of seconds before answering. "The main reason is that you regret your decision and you would take more care to gather the facts before making another decision like that. Also ... I had a friend who did the exact same thing as you."

Silence descended upon them while Omega was lost in thought. "His name was Luke and when I first met him, I immediately liked him. He accepted me into his group right off the bat with a smiling face and you couldn't help but look up to him. I was, of course, younger than him at the time. He became like a mentor to me and taught me battle skills that I still use today.

"As life went on, I went on many quests and a very powerful enemy rose up to try to kill my family, which is quite big with many cousins. So, naturally, we fought them to save our family. We soon found out that Luke betrayed us and joined the enemy. He wasn't completely without his reasons because most of our family are powerful people and complete jack-asses." Omega said with a small laugh.

"At the final battle, I fought against Luke and the leader of the enemy side. The battle was stressful and extremely difficult but I had some help. In the end, Luke woke up enough to see his mistakes and sacrificed his life so we could win the war. While what he did was wrong, he made the right decision in the end and I believe that if he was still live, he would have stuck with his family from then on out.

"That is why I can understand what you went through and accept that you made a wrong decision, understood why you made that decision, and will plan accordingly for those situations in the future."

Darek just sat there trying to comprehend someone like Omega. The way Omega was looking at him was like he had complete trust in him even though they just met. It actually made something stir in him that hadn't stirred since joining the army. The drive to do his best and make his commander proud to have him under his wing. It was amazing that he would feel that way just barely knowing Omega but he felt that way and he was going to act on it.

Darek smiled at Omega and said, "Thanks." They both finished their meal with small smiles on their face before preparing for the night to come. They each felt closer to each other than before and a new level of trust began to form. They each shared a major event in their lives and are now closer because of it.

~~~Midnight~~~

Omega and Darek made their way over to the guild's base and waited at the entrance for a guard to pass through. There weren't any guards on the outside so no one would run into them or even see them. They only had to wait 30 minutes for a guild member to pass through with two hidden figures following him inside.

Darek quickly led Omega to the vent they talked about and gave him a hoist up and getting a helping hand in return. They crawled through the vent for 20 minutes going side to side, up, down, and diagonal until they reached the staircase. Darek silently lifted the vent gate and slightly lowered his head to see into the hall so he wouldn't catch anybody's attention.

Luckily, there wasn't anybody in the hall so they quietly jumped down and headed down the stairs. They now took great care to check around the corners before heading down the many hallways. A few times they had to go into a side room when they heard people coming. While Darek was actually quite nervous about being caught, Omega was actually looking ahead by filling the air with more water vapor, so they really weren't going to get caught by surprise.

They only had to take down one of the guards and quickly stuffed him into a closet before moving on. As they made their way down to the final level, at least to their knowledge, still silence permeated the halls that even their soft steps made slight noises. They both gave each other looks and they knew that it would be impossible to navigate these halls while also taking out guards without making a single noise.

Omega came up next to Darek and told him that he was going to freeze a wall to block off people from coming down or escaping. Darek watched as Omega placed his hand on the wall and was impressed as a milky blue ice wall formed. He could no longer see the other side and he bet that noise wouldn't filter through either. He gave Omega a small smile and continued their journey.

The first guard they came encountered was in the second hallway and Omega had to stop Darek from turning the corner too fast without looking. He only got a strange look from Darek but it quickly turned into a slightly suspicious one when Darek looked around the corner and saw the guard. Omega really wished he didn't have to reveal that he knew a guard was up ahead when he shouldn't have been able to but it was either get caught by evil guild members or gain suspicion by someone he was coming to like. Of course, he chose his friend which he might actually reveal more about himself and his abilities after this.

Omega gave Darek a slight nod saying he would explain later before setting himself up at the corner. He pulled one of his knives off his chest strap and marginally looked around the corner. The guard was 20 feet away and had armor covering everything but his ankles, hands, neck, and face. Neck sounded like the best option so he waited for the best shot. He also froze some water on the tip to make sure his aim was true since he hadn't thrown a knife in a long time.

He only had to wait five minutes for the guard to shift a little in discomfort thus revealing a slightly larger portion of his neck. A swift throw later and the guard fell. Omega may or may not have blood bended to make the body have a softer landing. They both quickly, though silently, walked over to the guard. Omega made the blood go back into the body and the now dead body stand up straight. After taking water from thin air and burning a bit of his clothes, he made some glasses and stepped back to view his work. They were about to move on until Omega remembered his jaw idea and froze his teeth together. That would have been a dead giveaway if a guard saw that.

Both Omega and Darek nodded their heads in approval at the life like guard standing in the hallway. They both hoped that no one tried to talk to him or their plan was going to go quickly down the drain. After that, they stealthily made their way through the hallway and were surprised to not find any guards. Omega was actually wondering if they were going the right way or something until a hand stopped him from moving forward.

Omega immediately stopped and gave Darek a questioning look before looking around to find out why he stopped. After coming up blank, he watched Darek as he walked a couple of steps forward and pointed towards the ground. Omega came up beside him and didn't see anything out of the ordinary. He guessed the tile was a slightly different color shade but when slightly pushed with water vapor nothing happened so he didn't think it was a trap or anything.

Darek rolled his eyes and stepped up beside him to whisper in his ear. "This is a basic hole trap just with extremely advanced technology helping out. If a certain amount of weight is put on the tile then a wide section of the floor will disintegrate making you fall and setting off an alarm." Omega looked closer and tried to find a crack in the design so he could push water inside to see how it was made but he couldn't find a single flaw. He had to give them props at that and just nodded at Darek to show he understood and was thankful.

They continued on for over an hour trying to navigate the halls and had to kill seven more guards until they finally found a door that had two tough looking guards. They both grinned at each other knowing they found something important. Omega held two knives in one hand and lined up his shot. The next instant had two guards on the ground and two men with growing grins of anticipation.

After fixing the guards, they confidently entered the rooms and stopped short at what was inside. They apparently walked into a very lavish office with nice furniture and old dusty books decorating bookshelves. Plush rugs decorating the floor and a grand chandelier hanging from the ceiling just went over the top in Omega's opinion. However, what really surprised them was the nice looking man counting gold coins and filling out paper work behind the desk. The man looked up from his work and all three stared at each other in surprise before he leaned back and steepled his hands under his chin.

"Well, hello their gentlemen. How may I help you?" The man had a slight, charming smile that held had a sharp edge to it that reminded them that this important person wasn't someone to take lightly. Both Omega and Darek were still trying to figure out who this person was until it clicked for both of them. Darek slightly showed his surprise at figuring him out but that was all it took for the man to further the conversation.

"As you've apparently just figured out, my name is Guild Leader Vesperus. Now, I am quite curious as to why you are here and how you got here. Since I haven't got a notification from my guards I'm guessing that I don't have guards anymore. Anyway, why don't you take a seat so we can talk." Vesperus said with an amused eyebrow which irritated Omega with his personal disregard for his troops. However, it honestly didn't surprise him that the guild leader didn't care.

Omega looked at Darek and gave a small nod saying Omega was going to let him handle the conversation. They both sat down on the two chairs facing the desk and Omega listened while Darek talked. "So, just to make things clear. You are the leader of this guild, correct?" He got a nod in answer. "Alright, just to sate your curiosity, yes, you have no more guards on this level. At least, the way from the stairs to here and a little extra since we didn't know the way." Omega looked at Darek wondering why he was saying they killed all of them but he 'said' he was going to let him handle it so he stayed silent.

"Next, to put it into simplest terms, we're going to kill you." That sentence took both Omega and Vesperus by surprise and silence settled before Vesperus burst out laughing. Now Darek was confused as to why he would be laughing at the moment which was the opposite for Omega since he had seen it many times before during his assassin days.

Once Vesperus calmed down, he said, "I have to give you it to you guys. Getting to this room is no easy task and the guards stationed were some of my best. However, I think we can agree that a working relationship between us could be much more satisfactory. I can tell both of you are highly trained assassins and I would gladly hire you. And adding to the incentive, I will pay you twice as much as whoever offered you money for this job. They don't make assassins like they used to and I believe working together will help you reach your full potential."

Darek was once again surprised that Vesperus was trying to buy them out but, once again, Omega had heard it many times before and let it wash over him. However, what caught Omega's eye was the slight twitch of Vesperus' left hand towards the underside of his desk and made sure to keep a close eye on it to prevent further problems.

Darek's mood went to disbelieving and incredulity before saying, "You want to buy us out! What kind of assassin would switch jobs right in the middle of it. Even if we were hired assassins I wouldn't be bribed to change allegiances. This is the end of the road for you ... so, any last words?" Darek smiled charmingly at the man while Omega was shaking his head. Omega knew the next steps the leader was going to take and was quick to action.

Vesperus' hand shot under his desk but found that his arm stopped moving an inch away from the alarm. Switching tactics, he tried to retrieve his gun on the right side but found that he couldn't even move that hand. He then tried to stand but his knees wouldn't bend and his feet were stuck like glue. Of course, the next step was panic since there was feasible escape.

Darek jumped as he say Vesperus reach for something but stilled when the guild leader also stilled. He waited to see if he would move or stand up but all he saw was increasing levels of panic. However, they weren't doing anything to him so why would he panic? Unless ... he looked over at Omega and saw him focusing on Vesperus. It shocked him to see that Omega was actually controlling Vesperus without touch and was even more surprised that he didn't feel threatened or scared. He trusted Omega not to use his ability on him so he continued as if they planned for that to happen.

"As you see, you are in a predicament with only one option, die. So, without further ado and on behalf of the people, I relieve you from office and find you guilty of the crimes you committed and sentence you to immediate death." With that, he unlatched Omega's gift and threw it at Vesperus, embedding it deeply into his head.

Omega let his hold go and watched as the body slumped over on the chair. It had been a while since he killed an evil ruler and, honestly, he kind of missed it. Not exactly the killing part but the liberating feeling that he was helping society. He sighed and stood up before looking around the office. He pulled out a little bag that he got a couple of years ago that had the ability to hold more than it looked before gathering anything that he thought was valuable.

He retrieved the gold from Vesperus' desk and also any rare books that interested him. After finishing up with a few miscellaneous items, he put the bag up and turned towards Darek who had a slight frown on his face.

Once Darek saw he was finished, he asked his question. "You could control me right now if you wanted to, right?" Omega looked at Darek and saw no reason to lie to him so he answered honestly. "Yes." Darek nodded and asked, "Why didn't you tell me from the beginning? We could have gotten through the halls much quieter without the guards even falling."

Omega was a little surprised that he didn't see any anger on Darek's face, only curiosity. "When I told you about my blood manipulation abilities, I saw how uncomfortable it made you feel and I hoped to tell you about my full capabilities once you fully trusted me. I have no intention of ever using that ability on someone unless I'm really mad at them or it needs to be done. Other than that, I chose not to use it. Sometimes, of course, it is quite a temptation to just control a person to kill themselves to make my job easier but I don't believe that is fair. I have rules when I fight people whether they know we're fighting or not. And, actually, I did use my abilities to soften the bodies fall."

Darek smiled at Omega and chuckled a little. "Yeah I wondered why I only heard a thunk instead of metal skidding or something. Anyway, got any other cool powers you're keeping from me?" He said it in a teasing tone and was actually surprised that Omega actually nodded his head. "You've got to be kidding me! How do you have even more power! You already can control people for Chaos sake. What else can you do?!"

Omega chuckled and created two home cooked meals on the desk. The dumbfounded expression on Darek disappeared as his stomach growled at the delightful aroma of the food. "Um, I think we should take a late night snack break before moving on. What do you think?" They both openly laughed together and started eating.

After pilfering through the entire office and finding a hidden door containing priceless jewels, they excited the office and swept through what was left on the third floor. They gathered all the important documentation about cash flow and government officials before heading back up to the top. They surprisingly didn't run into anybody until they needed to slip past the guards by the door into the city. When they finally reached their house, they both agreed to go to bed and talk about the heist in the morning so each fell into a deep sleep after the stressful night they just had.

As the weeks flew by, word spread that the leader of the guild had been assassinated in his office and the people working closely with him were frightened. Whenever one of them would try to take control of the now vacant position, the candidate would wind up dead not too long afterword so anybody that was smart stayed far away.

Without a leader for the guild and with many members scared for their lives, the guild fell apart, giving the actual government a chance to seize control. It was also made easier since the fall of the guild inspired many citizens to take up arms and drive out any corrupted officials or guards.

After a few months, the government was slowly garnering influence and the people started to gain life again. Omega and Darek stuck with each other the whole way and worked together to topple anyone trying to rally troops to take over the government. After one such mission, they were actually spotted from afar, gaining them the name Companions. They actually liked the name and so did the people. So, they became known as the Companions, Saviors of the City.

The news tried to speculate who they were and what class they came from but, of course, they were nowhere close. Luckily, the people didn't care about where they came from and the government didn't either so they never were given arrest warrants for the murders they committed. It was an unspoken agreement that as long as they didn't murder anyone for the people or government, the government would look the other way and claim that they have no news on their whereabouts and are 'looking' extensively for them. Even though their definition of looking is with the naked eye during the daylight hours.

For the next year and a half, Omega and Darek's friendship grew into brotherhood. Omega even completely shed his cloak and mask at one point so his brother could know what he really looked like. They always had each other's back and learned to fight together on the battlefield with fluidity and expertise. They never left a single enemy standing and no one saw them while fighting. They became complete unknowns in the city and that was how they liked it.

However, all good things must come to an end for Omega as his second year ended. He knew that he stayed a year longer than he planned to but he enjoyed his time in Valos with his brother. Omega talked to Darek many times about his constant moving and different adventures during his life. So that was why when Omega talked to Darek one day and told him he would be leaving to go onto his next adventure, Darek wasn't surprised and wished him good luck and also forced a promise out of him to visit again.

They spent their last night together partying in the middle class section of the city and bid each other goodbye the next morning. As Omega mist traveled back to Vinesta, he sighed at the sight of his home and went inside. It had been a long time since he had been back to the familiar forest and it brought a comforting feeling to him. After putting up his stuff, he went straight to bed to regain energy. As he laid in bed, he wondered what his next great adventure would bring and if it would be just as good as or better than his time with Darek. As his brain slowly shut down, he only hoped it wasn't going to be worst.

How did you like it?! I hope it was worth the wait and once again I would like to thank everybody who has stuck with me even with my slow updates. I just want you to know that even if it feels like I will never update, I will sooner or later so have faith my friends that my fingers will keep typing. I'll end it here so I can actually get started on my homework so ... Bye!

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	20. Aphrodite Situation

Hey Guys! I have an extremely long update for you! Ready ... 12300 words! Pretty long huh ;) This chapter I actually co-wrote with a wonderful writer, Adventures_girl_99. So if you really love this chapter make sure you message her too thanking her for her effort. I want to make it clear however that this was a onetime thing. I'm still okay if you guys want to send in ideas for the story though. Anyway, I should stop talking and let you continue on with the story!

 _She replied through choked sobs, "A ... great love ... was just ... broken. ... A love ... that could outlast time ... just broke." The Olympians were now curious about who this was but before they could ask her she flashed out leaving only the smell of overdue perfume behind._

As soon as Aphrodite flashed to her temple she broke down in a fit of sobs. Most of the gods didn't know but every broken heart, every lost love was like a physical blow to her. She may have acted like broken hearts didn't affect her as to not worry her family but the truth was that her domain was killing her bit by bit and she took it all in silence.

She was sick of it. She was sick of having to suffer the pain of every broken heart. She was sick of the obliviousness of her family at the pain she was in, although, she'd never admit it.

She had been surviving for eternity with that pain without ever showing it. No one ever knew except for the most observant of the gods, Hestia. She always seemed to have a way of knowing things and had the ability to console any wound Aphrodite couldn't handle and was too much to bear. Hestia was always there for her and Aphrodite didn't know where she would be without her. For that, she was forever grateful.

However, this blow was the last straw. She was unable to tuck the pain away and decided it was time to show her true self. The pain was unbearable, the heartbreak too strong. Hestia wouldn't be able to help her this time, at least, enough to hide it.

Soon her sobs lessened to occasional sniffles. Though the pain was still fresh, she managed to gather herself and push the pain to the back of her head. She needed to find out what happened to cause this massive heartbreak.

The first thing that came to the forefront of her mind was Hestia's words during the council. She called the gods fools for badmouthing Percy. Or ... was it because they were fools for believing Percy did those acts? However, Hestia staunchly supported Percy for always respecting her even though she wasn't as popular as the other gods.

The love goddess was still angry, no, seething at Percy for the amount of disrespect he showed her and her children when she 'remembered' seeing him talking about Piper. Saying they were useless and weak, that Aphrodite wasn't worthy of her throne on Olympus. Her throne was the one thing that showed she wasn't some pushover love goddess. Being on the Olympian Council showed power and status and anybody who said she didn't deserve it deserved her wrath.

On the other hand, Hestia's anger filled eyes, containing only coldness and disgust instead of her usually warm and comforting eyes left her doubting what Aphrodite thought she saw.

Her doubt only grew bigger as she thought about the times Percy supported the Olympians, when he fought in the wars for them, the amount of pride and of course the embarrassment shining in his eyes as they praised him after the wars.

She remembered the amount of respect he showed them despite the times he tended to be disrespectful, but of course she knew that he was only joking just like she usually tends to be laid back unless someone crossed the line with her even though the other more temperamental gods tend to miss that line like *cough* Zeus *ahem* Athena ...

Chuckling at that thought seemed to lighten Aphrodite's mood slightly, but her smile vanished as soon as it came, leaving only a sense of dread and horror as she ran through possibilities.

She was positive that Percy wasn't responsible for any of the crimes he was accused of after her previous thoughts.

Prideful beings wouldn't refuse godhood just for the improvement of Olympus. And the demigods' camp, such selfless act definitely wouldn't even cross their mind. In fact, anyone, especially the power thirsty ones, wouldn't have thought about it for more than a second before they accepted.

Her dread and horror magnified as one of the only possibilities left ran through her head.

Someone must have been influencing them. Disbelief soon replaced that thought. How could someone have been manipulating them? When would they have done it? They should have felt another's power being worked on them. There was no way that there was a being powerful enough to manipulate a god without their notice, much less 12 Olympian gods.

If possible her sense of dread and horror returned and increased ten times. Someone was manipulating them into hating their hero. Possibly even a primordial or titan. Fighting and leading two wars, armed with nothing but a sword and a fiery determination do tend to gather many enemies.

Her dread only increased as she thought about it more. Without Perseus' help, Olympus would have been razed to the ground. The gods' reign would have ended. However, Percy was able to stop them. And if enemies wanted to destroy Olympus and end the gods' reign, then they must destroy the one with the ability to stop them and take away the hope of the people that that figure held.

After the last war, the remains of Gaea's army made feeble efforts to carry out their mistress' plans. Luckily these forces were mediocre at best and the gods and demigods were able to wipe them out.

Then, she recalled something she accidentally heard during a council meeting. She was too busy fixing her makeup to listen but she did manage to overhear a few things. She recalled Hermes reporting about the suspicious activities that the monsters seemed to be getting more coordinated in their attacks.

A solemn mood casted its shadow on the love goddess as her fears were confirmed. All of these circumstance can't be coincidences. As much as she wished they were, in the mythological world, there was no such thing as a coincidence.

The sense of dread and fear soon accompanied her solemn mood to be soon replaced by a fiery determination. No, it wasn't too late to fix what had been done. It was not too late to turn the tides and at least get back the winning card that would help them in the apparently approaching war.

It wasn't too late to fix what had been done and heal young Percy's heart.

She got up, not realizing that she had collapsed on the floor. Her arms were chilly from the coldness of the floor and she was shaking violently. Because of her temperature, fear, or determination she would never know. She hugged herself to try stop the shaking, then she wiped her eyes and her tear smudged face, staining her fingers with her ruined mascara.

As she was walking towards the bathroom to wash her face, something that glinted under the sofa caught her attention. Curious, Aphrodite slowly made her way to the sofa, kneeling down to pick up the glinting object.

As soon as her fingers touched the object, a shock went through her fingers that slowly and painfully made its way through her body, affecting her brain and heart in the process. Soon a bright golden light filled her vision, making her eyes shut at the sheer brightness of it.

When her vision cleared, she stared in confusion at her surroundings till she heard a cheering in the distance that caught her attention. She noticed a crowd near a strawberry field ...wait! Strawberry fields! Greek styled cabins! The Big House?! CAMP HALF-BLOOD!

Her shock only increased as a demigod passed right through her, walking straight towards the crowd. She felt the now familiar sense of dread as she recognized the familiar, unruly, jet black hair.

She tried jogging as to catch up with him but was slightly hindered because of her form fitting red satin dress and high heels. She kept cursing in ancient Greek as she somehow managed to catch up with the boy. She never really liked those ridiculous outfits she chose; they were always just a part of her act to cover up the pain.

To hide behind flashy clothes and makeup, to keep up her act, to not worry her family. She took all these measures so her family would think her happy and not worry about her.

Shaking herself to get back on topic, she began walking at the same pace as the boy beside her. She dared to steal a glance at the boy to see if it was who she thought it was and her fears were confirmed.

Because she caught sight of the familiar sea green eyes. However, what shocked her most was that they lost their usual sparkle, their mirth, their mischievous glint. They seemed ... heartbroken.

Aphrodite felt the all too familiar pain ... the heartbreak ... the bitterness. But the worst part? The fear and confusion his eyes held as he avoided the hostile glares the campers kept giving him. She felt all what he felt and it was worse than she imagined. She only seemed to feel a fraction of what he felt back in the council and it was still too much. This pain nearly made her collapse!

She quickly collected her wits though, and staggered after Percy, trying her best to clear her disoriented vision. She was mentally screaming at him to turn away and run from that crowd, already guessing what they were gathered near.

But the past was the past and the fates already decided the future of the Savior of Olympus.

But the worst part? She knew she couldn't get out of this blackout and she could only watch, helpless to do anything. The fates were cruel. She didn't need another example as to why every demigod that had ever lived hated them.

Her attention was brought back to the campers as Percy walked to his doom. They praised him after the wars. She remembered the amount of respect they showed him as he still worked his hardest to make the camp the best it could be.

As she watched Percy's face when he discovered the two people inside the crowd, she knew he wasn't responsible for the 'crimes' he committed.

A long time ago when the heartbreak started to hurt her, she managed to decrease the curse she was born with. She used to feel the every smidgen of pain of every broken love and if she hadn't of blocked it to the best of her ability, she would have had probably faded. Even with the block, she still felt a fraction of that pain.

She was brought out of her thoughts and silent pleas for Percy to stop when she noticed that they reached the crowd. Her sense of dread magnified till the point it being actually painful. And as she noticed what the campers were crowding around, her thoughts and fears were confirmed.

Because in the middle of that crowd was Annabeth Chase and a random camper she recognized as one of Morpheus' children in a heated love scene.

She felt a sharp stab of pain even with her blocks at full power and snapped her head to look at Percy. However, she was not prepared for the look in his eyes. His eyes, if possible, seemed to have darkened even more and looked nothing like his previous bright sea green color. Now they seemed more like the color of dead seaweed, full of confusion and heartbreak. She knew the floodgates would open soon but was still surprised at what she felt when the rest of his heart shattered.

She watched as he then took something from his pocket. A velvet box? It only took a second before Aphrodite took in a sharp breath, knowing what was in that box and proving why his heartbreak felt so absolute.

He slowly opened the lid and Aphrodite let out another involuntary gasp at the beauty of the ring. Inside the box was a wedding ring fit for the gods, a bright silver band that glinted more than a normal metal should with gems adorning the ring, one whitish grey and two sea green gems of smaller size on each side.

She already had suspicions on who made that ring but her mind couldn't focus enough through the pain. He stared at it for a few moments before dropping it and walking away.

Before she could follow however, the floodgates finally opened and a colorful stream of ancient Greek curses showered from her mouth. She wasn't prepared for another wave of pain and wasn't too surprised that she couldn't monitor her mouth through the pain. Some of her words were so intense that they could have made Ares blush. Heck! If Hera was present she'd have probably washed Aphrodite's mouth with a truck load of soap for centuries.

But her mind couldn't focus on any topic other than the pain she felt because it was unbearable. She tugged at her hair so furiously that she nearly pulled it out. She didn't even notice that she collapsed to her knees until she felt the soft grass brush against them.

Tears streamed down her already tear stained face. There were no words to describe the pain. She wanted to scream in agony but fought the urge. Instead, she clenched her jaw, hissing through her teeth with an occasional groan.

Then the flashbacks. She saw Poseidon disowning his only child with a look of fury while said child looked confused and extremely heartbroken.

She saw Percy getting assaulted by a bunch of aggressive campers and taking it all in silence, obviously not wishing to harm his fellow campers.

She saw all of the campers, his best friends, and all of the council except Hestia and Hades leaving him one by one, accusing him of things she now knew he didn't do. She only had to look at the truth written on his saddened and heartbroken face or the desperate and confused look in his eyes that could not be faked. She could feel the cloud of confusion that clouded her head disperse revealing the true horrors of what she and her fellow Olympians did to the most loyal demigod in the history of Olympus.

However, the last few flashbacks were the worst:

She saw Percy as a 6 year old child being abused by bald headed fat walrus of a man.

She saw his mother and step-father telling him they didn't want him anywhere near their family.

She saw Annabeth consoling Percy, telling him she'll always love him even if everyone else hated him and she somehow knew it was the day before that little scene with the Morpheus Camper.

But then there was one more flashback that gave her some hope. She saw Hestia consoling young Perseus, adopting him and telling him she'd always love him.

Aphrodite sighed in relief knowing that there was at least some sort of connection to Perseus and the world. She knew that as long as he had someone, he wouldn't abandon them.

She fell back against the cool grass as the flashbacks ended. The pain slowly leaving behind a numb body and mind.

Before the world went dark, the last thing she saw was the ring shimmering slightly in its box then disappearing with a familiar glint.

Aphrodite woke up with a start. She didn't even realize that silent tears, fresh and old carved their way on her cheeks. She hugged her knees, resting her forehead on them and rocked herself back and forth weeping silently. She felt like a toddler who just woke up from terrible nightmare and wanted his parents' reassurance that it was only a nightmare and it wasn't real.

But unfortunately for Aphrodite, she was having a living nightmare, one that she couldn't wake up from.

The heartbreak of Percy Jackson was the strongest she had ever felt since she was born. No other heartbreak even came close to rivaling it. The pain, the bitterness ... all in all it wasn't a pleasant feeling.

' _No more'_ she thought. She couldn't do this anymore.

She was tired of pretending to be someone she's not.

She was tired of being ridiculed, joked at and underestimated by others.

She was tired of the pain, the heartbreak, the everlasting sadness.

The pain of someone who was in love, when they were living a beautiful dream only to wake up and find themselves living in a cold, cruel world.

If they found out that their loved ones were dead, if they found out that they were only living a fairytale, if their loved ones stabbed them in the back with betrayal.

The pain Percy Jackson felt as his loved ones left him one by one with cold hearts and no regret or remorse left her thinking.

The cloudiness she'd been feeling left her 100% sure that she'd been influenced. She, the Olympians, the minor gods, the campers, everyone Percy knew with the exception of Hestia and Hades left him.

She also remembered noticing that their eyes were slightly glazed over and they looked uncertain and confused before their eyes hardened and attacked Percy. And if the campers were also affected, then they probably have a spy at camp.

Her mind started churning different ideas on the possibilities. The gods might've gotten affected during their visits to the camp which was confirmed when she thought about Hestia and Hades and their lack of or infrequent visits.

They were the only ones unaffected and they rarely visited camp. It was pretty much confirmed. They had a traitor at Camp Half-Blood.

Her kaleidoscope eyes darkened. They were so dark that they were almost black and there were small specks of red crimson color representing her fury.

Whoever was that traitorous demigod was going to suffer her wrath. Even if she had to turn the Earth upside down to find him.

"No more," she decided. She would not allow this to go on anymore.

She would not see any more love break and stand there without any intervention. It was her domain after all and she was supposed to take care of it.

She would not stand ideally by and see young demigods burn in the fire of war. They were after all just children hiding behind armor. They didn't deserve this life any more than another.

She would not allow anyone of them to die alone without love. Not if there was anything she could do about it.

She would not be controlled anymore, not by other Olympians, not by the fates, not by the ancient laws ...

Damn the ancient laws! They were the reason their children used to hate them. What kind of laws don't allow a child to see their parent. What kind of laws prevent a parent from helping their child and only watch helplessly as they struggle through life and get hurt or die.

And for that she despised the ancient laws. She would not follow them anymore for they were the reason of the gods' disgrace. Whoever said that disobeying them brought disgrace must have been a little over the top!

Well they were wrong, everyone who followed those laws were wrong for they had already brought disgrace to themselves by making the young demigods think that they were cold, heartless bastards that didn't care about them.

She was so engrossed in her musings that she only noticed after a while that her fist were clenched with such force that her knuckles were white and small, red curves formed on her palms.

She could feel the object she picked up earlier in her sweating hand. She already knew what it was due to her blackout. Opening her hand, she was unsurprised when her suspicions were once again confirmed. Because sitting on her palm in all its glory was the silver band she saw in her earlier blackout, another spoil of a broken love. She was sure that the Styx gained another item that day.

She had many of these such symbols hidden away deep in the bowels of her house. The causes of her blackouts and constant reminders of her failures. A cruel joke whenever she looked upon them.

She clenched her fist again, the amount of crimson specks in her eyes increasing as her fury increased.

She didn't know what overcame the Athena spawn, but she surely would pay the price for her crimes. She frowned, the specks in her eyes decreasing slightly and she briefly wondered.

Why did Annabeth do what she did? Usually she tended to be wise and guarded and study all her options before making her choices before coming to a conclusion with solid evidence.

Just then Aphrodite remembered having a terrible migraine some time ago but brushed it off as nothing. After that moment, she remembered that the next time she saw Percy she looked at him with disgust remembering what he did to her. But before that migraine, she didn't remember Percy ever doing anything to her or even after the migraine. It was like a memory just popped its way into her head.

Maybe it was like that for the rest of the gods and campers. They just found themselves hating Percy one day with these false memories. But who had the power to create false memories?!

She didn't know the answer to that question but by Chaos she was going to find that answer. A plan started weaving itself inside Aphrodite's brain.

She got up, fiery determination shining in her kaleidoscope eyes, quickly washed her face and changed into something more comfortable and casual. The first thing she managed to get out of her large walk through wardrobe was dark blue skinny jeans ripped slightly at the knees, a black T-shirt with a pink heart design, a black leather jacket and hiking boots.

Her blonde hair that was previously in perfectly styled ringlets was now tied up into a ponytail. She didn't even bother with any accessories or makeup for she was done acting! She was not the ditzy blonde that fell in love with every man she met.

After finishing getting ready in five minutes flat, she decided that walking to her destination would be better than flashing herself there as some fresh air might help clear her head.

And so the love goddess exited her residence, head held high and natural beauty shining. With confident footsteps she headed to the targeted Goddess.

As she made her way through the open market she got many odd looks and stares from the minor gods, Nymphs and naiads and decided walking wasn't her best idea. However, she did notice that the men had different looks than usual. Instead of the drooling that she usually got, she got more appreciative looks and a couple of full body scans instead of a body scan that stopped at her chest.

She just rolled her eyes and heaved an exasperated sigh before glaring back at everyone, daring them to comment. They immediately flinched from the harsh stare of her now dark black and red speckled eyes, already feeling that the love goddess had a really bad day.

Her entire walk to the throne room was basically composed of glaring at the nosy passersby and avoiding the flabbergasted stares until she couldn't take it anymore and flashed herself the rest of the way to the doors of the throne room.

She stood in front of the doors for a moment trying to detect any voices or sounds of movement, for signs of the presence of other Olympians.

It was eerily quiet and there were no signs of energy auras except for one. The only sound was the crackle of the flames in the hearth and the familiar comforting warm aura. Though now it seemed a little colder than usual.

She pushed open the doors and went inside and like she suspected, her target was inside. Hestia sat tending to the hearth, too engrossed in her task to notice the arrival of Aphrodite. The fire of the hearth casting an eerie glow on her face which didn't help with the faraway look in her eyes.

Aphrodite then cleared her throat which resulted in Hestia numbly raising her head. Her eyebrows shot up in surprise at the sight of Aphrodite, probably from both the unexpected visit and new style.

"Lady Hestia," Aphrodite nodded curtly and smiled a soft smile.

Hestia got over her surprise and mirrored her smile.

"Lady Aphrodite, I hope you are feeling alright," her tone sounded both worried and curious, mirrored by her eyes.

Aphrodite's smile slid off her face and her eyes turned sad again. She looked Hestia in the eyes and managed to whisper out one word. "...No..."

Aphrodite couldn't hold back her emotions anymore. Her eyes turned from crimson speckled, dark black to dull grey with specks of brown. She was hoping to grasp what little shred of hope she had left wanting some sort of comfort.

Hestia's smile slid off her face and her expression sobered immediately upon seeing Aphrodite in such a vulnerable state. She got up from her spot in front of the hearth and opened her arms for a hug. Aphrodite gladly rushed forward to embrace her, happy that there was someone who was willing to take the pain away.

They stayed like that for a while with Hestia whispering words of comfort in Aphrodite's ear, injecting the power of hope in her and repairing her broken aura with her own.

After Aphrodite managed to collect herself enough to speak, she slowly pulled herself from their embrace and wiped her eyes, giving Hestia a small smile of gratitude.

Hestia smiled softly at her in return, though she was slightly worried about her. She had a solid guess as to what heartbreak she felt and wasn't too surprised at how much it affected her, even though it broke her heart watching it.

They both sat on a small wooden bench in front of the hearth and stayed silent for a while just observing the brazier in front of them.

The love goddess' eyes were glued to the flames in front of her: gold, red, white and orange, all dancing in harmony. They were so mesmerizing that they were almost hypnotizing.

Finally, Hestia broke them out of their silence. "Do you want to talk about it?" She asked softly.

Aphrodite's eyes darkened slightly remembering the topic she wanted to talk to Hestia about, then they gained an intimidating light to them. They almost seemed like Athena's eyes, if not more intimidating.

Their previous dull grey color seemed more vibrant due to the determination she was feeling. There were specks of different colors of brown, black and red representing her emotions of hope, bitterness, sadness and fury though the brown specks were more dominant than the others.

Hestia's eyebrows shot up in surprise at the display of emotions in her eyes, such turmoil even after injecting her with so much hope.

"It's about Percy..." Aphrodite spoke up.

Hestia felt shocked, but her shock was quickly replaced with anger. She clenched the iron rod she used to tend the hearth with so much force that her knuckles turned completely white. The hearth responded to its mistress' feelings by flaring slightly, nearly causing Aphrodite's eyebrows to be seared off.

Aphrodite shuffled uncomfortably next to her already sensing her fury and briefly wondered if Hestia would stab her with the rod she was clenching in her fist. Her eyes shifted to the end that was poking the hearth and she couldn't repress the shudder when her eyes rested on the white hot point.

Hestia sensing her anxiousness took deep breathes to calm herself. Once she was calm enough she asked Aphrodite a question in a poorly disguised non-interested tone.

"What about Perseus?" The monotone voice sent shivers down Aphrodite's back. She took a deep breath and mustered enough courage to reply. "I believe you."

Hestia's head snapped to look at Aphrodite, her expression had complete and utter shock written all over it. She noticed Aphrodite fiddling with something in her hands but before she could speak, Aphrodite told her of the events that took place with her after she flashed to her temple. She showed her the spoil of love that caused her blackout (to say that Hestia was livid would be the understatement of the eon) and told Hestia of her suspicions. She even told Hestia about her watching Percy being adopted by her which had Hestia blushing. Aphrodite could practically feel the motherly love coming off Hestia in waves.

After she finished explaining everything, the hearth's flames had died down to a small flicker and Hestia's lips were pressed together in a thin line, expression grim.

"That explains everything" she said bitterly.

Aphrodite titled her head and looked at Hestia curiously. Hestia sighed, "It's all clear now. The amount of sadness I saw in his eyes," she explained. "Never in my existence have I felt so little hope in such a great hero." She whispered mostly to herself but Aphrodite managed to hear her soft spoken voice.

She mirrored Hestia's look and nodded her head in agreement. "Too much heartbreak".

They stayed silent for a second before Hestia broke it again. "I agree with you that someone must have had a hand in this but your assumptions are dangerous, are you sure?" Hestia kept her eyes trained on the hearth but looked at her fellow Olympian when she asked her question.

"It's the only explanation that could match up with the recent events. "It's better being cautious than regretful."

Hestia sighed like her biggest fear had come true and looked like the weight of the world was placed on her shoulders.

"I have a plan though," Hestia looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

Aphrodite took a deep breath and told her what she planned to do.

Hestia eyebrows' rose slowly with every word and every step of the plan. To say that she was stunned would be an understatement. She knew Aphrodite was not who she pretended to be but even Hestia didn't know that she was such a strategist.

By the time Aphrodite finished explaining her plan, she looked at Hestia expectantly waiting for her reply but Hestia was too busy gaping at her.

Once she snapped out of it, she gave Aphrodite a nod of approval and smiled. "Well planned Aphrodite. I'm impressed."

Aphrodite blushed slightly and said 'it was nothing' before getting serious again. "I will need your help. I can't be at that many places at the same time."

Hestia mirrored her look. "I vowed I'll always love my son and I can at least do this."

Aphrodite was about to comment when a deep voice interrupted them.

"I'd like to participate as well."

Hestia tensed for a moment, her expression alarmed before visibly relaxing. Aphrodite on the other hand was up on her feet in a second, whirling around with startling speed automatically reaching to her boots pulling out her imperial gold daggers. They soon left her hands lightning fast at the intruder before anyone could even blink.

Her eyes widened when she saw the face of the god that interrupted them.

The mentioned god stood frozen as the daggers embedded themselves in the wall behind him and outlined his shoulders and head. One of them left a small graze on his neck and the other sliced some of his black hair. Other than that, there was no further damage.

His eyes were as round as drachmas with his mouth forming a small 'O.'

All three Olympians stood in stunned silence. Two of them staring at Aphrodite, whose mouth was opening and closing thinking of an apology, while the other two looked shell-shocked that Aphrodite threw daggers at someone. That wasn't even including the speed and accuracy of the shot.

Hestia was the first to recover. She pressed her lips in a thin line with her hands firmly on her hips and raised a disapproving eyebrow at the god in front of them.

"May I ask why have you not announced your presence earlier, little brother?" She asked in a tone that a mother would use to scold her child.

The lord of the dead snapped out of his state and flinched at the look his sister was giving him.

"My apologies," he started with an apologetic bow of his head. "I came here to talk to you, sister about an important topic, Perseus to be more specific, but apparently Aphrodite had had the same idea." He raised an eyebrow at Aphrodite then looked at his sister expectantly.

Hestia sighed and ran a hand on her face tiredly. She exchanged a look with Aphrodite and then looked at Hades and said, "How long have you been standing there, Hades?"

The ruler of the underworld shrugged and replied, "Long enough to know everything." He hesitated and glanced at Aphrodite, then gave them both a look that said 'you both have a lot of explaining to do' while Hestia gave him a stern look that said 'you'll know everything in time.'

Hades sighed in defeat knowing there would be no way to convince his sister to spill if she gave him that look and tried to get back onto the previous topic at hand.

"I wish to aid you in your plan to clean young Jackson's reputation."

Hades had been seething in his palace after the meeting. The other Olympians providing false accusations at young Perseus was too much. He was left speechless at some of the accusations thrown Percy's way before his shock was replaced with pure fury. He remembered that meeting quite clearly.

 _Hades listened to the accusations being thrown at Percy and was about to stand up and tell them that Percy couldn't even think about doing any of those things, let alone do them. However, just before he was about to speak up, Hestia beat him to it._

 _Hestia straightened her posture and looked in the eyes of every god and said four words that stunned the Olympians into silence, "You are all fools."_

 _He had to admit that his sister was downright terrifying when angry, even more than him._

 _But before any of them could ask her anything, Aphrodite doubled over in her throne and fell out of it although she seemed fine since the beginning of the meeting._

 _While Zeus and Apollo were trying to calm her erratic aura, she flashed out leaving behind very confused gods._

 _After the gods got over their shock, they asked Hestia why they were all fools but soon regretted it when Hestia got started._

 _While she was berating them for accusing Percy of those crimes, his eyes didn't fail to notice that his fellow gods' eyes were slightly unfocused like they were trying a little too hard to remember something and it occurred to him that they might have been influenced and judging by the look on his sister's face, she didn't fail to notice it either._

 _Then his brother Zeus, being the prideful, ignorant king he was bragged about how it was impossible to influence them without their notice._

 _It took all of Hades' willpower not to strangle him for his idiocy._

 _Then before she could do any permanent damage to them, Hestia excused herself and unapologetically apologized for interrupting the meeting and flashed out._

 _Hades felt like following her example but it would've raised a lot of eyebrows. In the end, he stayed quiet and seethed in silence until the meeting was over. He immediately flashed back to his realm to control or release his anger; he didn't even know which one yet. He took deep breathes and paced the throne room of the underworld to keep his anger at bay as to not destroy the mortal city above._

 _The Olympians were being influenced, any fool could tell. However, the question was why? What were their motives? Was this one of Percy's enemies getting revenge?_

 _He got his answer sooner than he wished._

 _He wanted to talk to Hestia about what happened and what he saw but someone else beat him to it. Just when he thought he could not get any more surprised, the fates had other plans._

 _He flashed to the throne room doors where he beheld the strangest sight in all of his immortal life, and that was saying something._

 _Hestia was hugging a black haired goddess, comforting her and injecting the power of the hope in her as her aura slowly repaired. While it wasn't that strange of a sight to see Hestia comforting someone, he was completely taken off guard when the black haired goddess' aura healed and her identity was revealed._

 _Her appearance did a complete 180, not that he was complaining. That flashy and colorful clothes was quite irritating to the eyes._

 _He considered whether revealing himself was a good idea or not but his curiosity eventually got the best of him and made sure to conceal his aura as to not alert the other two Olympians of his presence, although he still felt a little guilty for spying on them._

 _What he heard and witnessed next left him struggling with many emotions: confusion, shock, disgust, hate, sympathy, anger, fear and lastly determination to fix the situation or at least clear the air._

 _When he thought it was the right time to speak, he should've cleared his throat. He knew after the fact that speaking so suddenly could cause unexpected reactions from clearly changed people but no one, including the attacker, was prepared for what happened next._

 _In a flash, he had a scrape against his neck and a lock of hair falling to the floor with two knives embedded into the wall. He froze stock still and let out a silent gasp in shock at the surprised goddesses._

Snapping out of his reverie and back to the present, he stared at the weird duo in front of him, waiting for them to respond.

Aphrodite finally sighed and nodded, "We'll need all the help we can get."

She told him of his part of the plan and he simply nodded in understanding. It was the least he could do for young Perseus for everything he did for him.

"Are you sure that's the best idea, Aphrodite?" Hestia asked her curiously.

"Yes, he'll give us valuable help as there's probably no one that'll suspect him."

After that, the two children of Kronos and the daughter of Ouranos flashed out to their assigned destinations, leaving the throne room eerily silent.

Aphrodite made sure to disguise herself well. Unfortunately, she had to wear flashy clothes and makeup again if she wanted her plan to work. She also made sure to manipulate the mist as to not raise any suspicions about her. After all, no one had seen her before.

Anyways, she disguised herself as a 12 year-old daughter of Aphrodite named Liliana with auburn hair and green eyes. She walked around Camp Half-Blood trying to detect any source of strange energy activity or suspicious auras.

Hestia, Hades, and herself divided tasks between them. Aphrodite would investigate if there was anything suspicious at Camp Half-Blood, Hestia would do the same at Camp Jupiter and Hades would keep an eye on the gods as to not let them discover what they were up to.

The process might take weeks, months even but it was all they had.

One day, Aphrodite was walking into the big house making sure that no one was in there before continuing her task.

Right when she walked in the rec-room, she let out a little squeal and nearly had a heart attack.

Chiron was sitting in his wheel chair looking weary and tired, like he aged many years in the last few days. There were bags under his eyes which were bloodshot.

Aphrodite felt sympathy for him. He came back from Camp Jupiter a day after Percy left and when he discovered what happened to his favorite student ... let's just say it was not pleasant.

He lifted his head when he noticed her and offered her a small weary smile.

"Good afternoon, Liliana. How may I help you?"

Aphrodite thought of a lame excuse a little too quickly. "I was looking for my friend but apparently she's not here. Sorry for disturbing you Chiron." She turned, more like whirled, around and marched to the door chanting in her head 'please buy the lie, please buy the lie.'

Of course, right when her hand was inches away from the door knob, Chiron sighed and said, "Lady Aphrodite."

Aphrodite froze, her mind went blank and only one thought filled it. _Busted_

How did he recognize her?! She made sure to manipulate the mist well!

"I don't know what you are up to, but if you are doing what I think you are doing, then you have my aid. I'll maintain the mist identity while you are gone," he told her kindly.

Aphrodite let out a small breath she didn't even know she was holding. She didn't know how Chiron figured it out but she guessed it was his thousand years of wisdom helping him.

She turned her head slightly and offered Chiron a small smile of gratitude.

"Thank you, Chiron." Chiron nodded at her and mirrored her smile. She turned her head back to the door, grabbed the knob, twisted it, yanked the door open and exited the room, wanting to find the culprit even sooner.

The Olympians were really worried about Aphrodite. Since that one meeting she was rarely seen on Olympus and when they did see her, she kept shutting out anyone who tried to talk to her.

Also, when anyone asked her what was wrong, she'd just look at them coldly and reply in an icy tone that they would understand everything in due time then she'd simply flash out, leaving behind a group of bewildered gods.

They were even more shocked about her new attire. She was wearing more dark clothes and no makeup or accessories at all. No fancy clothes or overdue perfume. Just tom-boy and slightly gothic styled clothes. Sometimes she wore the same outfit TWICE! No killer high heels, just hiking or combat boots. NO fancy hair styles, just braids or pony tails and the only time she had something close to a fancy hairstyle was a simple French braid with an eagle's feather.

Another strange occurrence was during a council meeting when Ares tried to push her to spill. She snapped at him and used a really intense curse as her eyes turned into a pure crimson red.

Hera gave her a real disapproving look that said 'you and I will have a long talk.' Aphrodite's anger dissipated and she shuddered, knowing that the long talk would last for probably a few centuries and it would include soap, lots and lots of soap.

That was also when more of the gods became suspicious, specifically Apollo, Artemis, Athena and Hermes.

Well, Hermes and Apollo were not exactly suspicious, just curious. They decided to team up against the unsuspecting Olympian. They would prod and push and more importantly prank her to get her to spill the beans ... it did not end well.

On several occasions Apollo and Hermes would be seen moping around on Olympus covered in scratches, claw marks, and dove's feathers. One time they even were seen tied up with an apple in their mouths.

Artemis was suspicious of her behavior because she thought she was up to something twisted that might harm an innocent maiden knowing Aphrodite.

Athena, well she was the goddess of Wisdom and she hated not knowing things but was wise enough to stay away until Aphrodite cooled down.

The campers also noticed the change during the visits, although none of them were complaining. The Aphrodite cabin were flabbergasted to say the least, of course, with the exception of Piper who was looking at her mother with shinning eyes and a whole new light.

~~~ One Month Later ~~~

Apollo was nearly finished driving his chariot across the sky as Aphrodite was walking on the beach at Camp Half-blood. She was grumbling about how long it was taking as she kicked a few shells into the water. She sensed old energy signatures mainly around the cabins but they were too old to identify and there weren't any new ones. Hestia reported that she had sensed some similar energy signatures at Camp Jupiter but she thought they seemed too small to really do anything. It became clearer once Hades said that he sensed faint energy like that from the gods but he could tell that they were affected somewhere else and just brought the signature along when they came to Olympus. That brought them to the conclusion that it started at Camp Half-Blood.

They couldn't tell if the signature was from a higher being or not. They also didn't know if they were suspected by the perpetrator. The oddly peaceful camp was too peaceful. Usually that meant a bad omen was upon them and it reminded them of the calm before a storm.

She snapped out of her thoughts when she sensed that strange aura again and without thinking she sprinted in the direction it was coming from.

She halted to a stop when she noticed two teenagers, a boy and a girl sitting next to each other on the soft sand, chatting happily, holding hands and laughing.

She sighed as she recognized the blonde princess curls and the Morpheus camper. Annabeth and Nathan.

She sighed again. It became a daily routine to keep an eye on those two. She could tell that both of them at least slightly loved each other but neither was truly in it or trying to make more out of it. Annabeth couldn't stop thinking about Percy and went between mournful and angry when thinking about him. Nathan acted more like a friend to her than loving her even though they were dating

She hid behind a boulder to not disturb them and to see what they were talking about.

Annabeth let out a little laugh and said, "Funny Nathan but I don't think that was how it went. I'm pretty sure Clarisse wiped the floor with you." Nathan gave her a mock hurt look and said, "Well I never! I can't believe that my own girlfriend doesn't believe that little ole me could beat the big brute that wipes the floor with everyone. The story isn't cool unless it has an unexpected ending."

Annabeth rolled her eyes and stared out across the sea, getting lost in its beauty as waves lapped the shore. Her expression changed to angry, confused and pained but the anger was the most dominant. The same look she had whenever the topic of Percy was brought up.

Aphrodite thought she felt a flicker of something but her thoughts were interrupted when Nathan spoke up. Nathan waved his hand in front of Annabeth's face, snapping her out of her reverie.

"Are you okay, Annabeth?" He asked her worriedly. Annabeth forced a smile and nodded, "Yeah, just thinking."

Nathan sighed and said quietly, "He doesn't deserve you for what he did, you know?" Annabeth snapped her head and looked at him a little incredulously.

"Am I really that obvious?"

He just chuckled, held her hand and looked deeply in her eyes. "He doesn't deserve a second for you to think about him. He made his decision and he was on the losing side." Even though he had a smile on his face, it looked like he wanted to grimace a little. Why would he want to do that when saying Percy didn't deserve her?

She was about to go back to camp as Annabeth turned back to the sea until she felt that flicker again. She whipped her head around and focused in on Annabeth. It looked like she was thinking about Percy again like the last time she felt the flicker. She focused on it even more trying to decipher it and was left dumbfounded when she made the connection.

Nathan must have did something to her memories that made her feel like Percy betrayed her. Maybe that was why he looked like he wanted to grimace! He could possibly regret what he did. Whenever she saw him in camp, he was usually training or even helping another camper ... just like Percy.

It clicked in her mind. He must have been jealous of what Percy had since he was from a minor god and couldn't ever come close to competing with him. So, he got rid of him. But, now he was dealing with the guilt of breaking the Hero of Olympus.

Even though it all made sense to her now, she couldn't stop the anger that boiled inside her. While she highly doubted he had a patron or anything, he still ruined Percy's life and deserved punishment.

She silently got up from her hiding spot by the boulder and slipped away, unnoticed by the couple.

Once she was a good distance away from them, she walked into the woods until she reached Zeus' fist and flashed out, mentally screaming at Hestia and Hades to meet her.

"Are you sure?" Hades asked for the one hundredth time ever since they arrived.

They decided to meet up in his palace, with Hades' permission of course, as to make sure no one would spy on them.

Aphrodite had been pacing agitatedly, running a hand through her hair that was for once let down.

Aphrodite sighed in frustration as she ran her hands across her face and replied impatiently.

"Yes I'm sure. It's the same energy signature the three of us had sensed since the beginning of this month." She sighed and ran a hand through her hair for probably the 1974th time that night. "Can't you see? Can't you see the connections?! It all makes sense now. He's the one who influenced Annabeth into thinking that Percy was cheating on her.

"He's the one who made her think that he'll be there for her and at the same time he's the one who turned everyone against Percy after he arrived at camp." She finished her rant and took a deep breath. She looked him dead in the eye and said in a solemn tone, "We can't allow this to continue without punishment. While I suspect he regrets it, he still did the act. We must bring him in and allow judgment to be passed."

"Yes, but how do we know whether there is a true enemy or not and if so is it just toying with us?" Hestia asked trying to reason with them and the other two Olympians jumped when she spoke, momentarily forgetting the presence of the eldest daughter of Kronos as she had been quiet ever since they arrived.

Aphrodite had a thoughtful expression and rubbed her chin with her pointer finger and thumb thoughtfully. Hestia and Hades could almost see the gears turning. However, Aphrodite just sighed and said, "We won't be able to figure out if he has a patron or not without asking. I honestly don't think he does. I think the best course of action is to gather the gods and hold a trial for him after breaking the news to them. Then we'd collect him from camp. Unless you guys have a better idea?"

They thought for a second but couldn't come up with anything. They agreed to meet at Olympus and call the other Olympians together to find out his punishment. Hestia flashed out and Aphrodite was about to follow her example when Hades started talking to her.

"Aphrodite ..."

Said goddess titled her head to side curiously. "Yes?"

"Whenever you need someone to talk to feel free to visit the underworld any time," he told her gently and sincerely. Aphrodite gave him a smile of gratitude in return then nodded.

After the three gods finished their little conference, they teleported onto Olympus to call the gods. Since Hestia came first, she waved her hands over the hearth which sent out a blast of fire into the sky, signaling an emergency council meeting.

It only took three minutes for all the gods to pop in and take a seat.

Zeus spoke first, "Hestia, why have you called this meeting?"

Hestia took a deep breath preparing for the initial shouts of protest. "I have called this meeting to decide the fate of a demigod." Most gods looked at her curiously wondering why the whole council needed to get involved for one demigod.

She continued, "This demigod used his abilities to manipulate others into believing what he wanted which resulted in the exile of a camper. I wish to try him for his crimes and come up with a fitting punishment for him before retrieving him."

Some gods showed open confusion but a few started showing comprehension. Zeus asked with slightly narrowed eyes, "And who is this demigod and who was exiled?"

She took a deep breath, "Nathan son of Morpheus exiled Percy Jackson." It really killed her not to say son of Poseidon and she definitely wasn't going to give away her adoption. Like she suspected, Zeus blew up at the mention of Percy and didn't even seem to connect that someone was being accused of manipulating the gods.

"WHAT! If Nathan helped exile that traitor than we should be giving him a medal! Not giving him a punishment!" Zeus was about to keep going but Aphrodite interrupted him, surprising most everyone in the room.

"It is true Zeus. Nathan used his abilities to manipulate both campers and gods to hate Percy. Didn't you think it was strange how the kindest and loyalist demigod ever known somehow became the jackass of the camp. That just doesn't happen especially with Percy. Think about the memories of Percy supposedly doing whatever he did to you. Did anything seem off? Or did Percy treat you any differently after he did these acts? No, he didn't.

"Did any of you see his heartbroken expression after you told him off? I know I did and I completely regret it. When I look at my memory, I feel like I have to concentrate to find it unless someone specifically mentions Percy. Then it was like anger filled me because it was one of the worst things he could do to me. How could he have even known what would affect me the most? No, Percy didn't do any of these things. Memories were implanted in our heads so we would drive him out of camp leaving the leader position open for takers."

All of the gods sat numb in their seats. They tried to find reason to deny her statements but when they looked, they saw it was true. It did take a little more concentration to bring up the memory but when Aphrodite said Percy it was like the memory suddenly became available. Once that was concluded, they thought about Percy's face when they yelled at him for betraying them. He looked so lost and confused and extremely hurt.

As the gods slowly came back to themselves, even though some like Poseidon couldn't quite yet wrap their head around what they did, anger replaced thinking and angry mumbles started to be heard.

Zeus yelled out, "QUIET!" The gods quickly became silent. Zeus continued, "While this might explain how we came to hate Percy even though it is likely impossible, why would you blame Nathan for this?"

Aphrodite spoke up again, "I have been at Camp Half-Blood trying to figure out who committed these atrocious acts against Percy and thought how it could be possible to make someone hate Percy. After months of investigation I concluded that it was Nathan because of his abilities and the faces he made when Percy was mentioned. In the beginning, he was angry like the rest of them but I started seeing guilt as time passed. He was also the first to hate Percy ever since the camp didn't believe him with the hellhounds. I at first thought he was being influenced by a higher being but I think he was just jealous of Percy's position and status at camp."

There was still anger in the air but now it was more contemplative than just fury. Hermes spoke up, "And what ability does he have? I didn't think Morpheus could implant memories."

Aphrodite nodded but said, "That is true but he didn't implant memories but he does have the ability to manipulate dreams. It is my belief that he manipulated the campers dreams while they were asleep and manipulated us much slower for us not to notice and then have the small tid-bits combine at one time into a memory. They probably combined during one of our resting periods."

Most of the gods were nodding along as the idea sunk it. It made perfect sense to them when they thought about it like that. Zeus nodded sharply and said, "That would seem the most likely case but we need to make sure before detaining Nathan. We shall summon Morpheus and see what he has to say."

Zeus shot a lightning bolt into the sky and ten seconds later a short god with bone-white skin and black hair walked through the doors. He came into the middle of the throne room and bowed to Zeus. "You called, my King?"

Zeus nodded and said, "We have a question about the abilities of your children. Can they manipulate dreams like yourself and essentially create memories of events?"

Morpheus looked slightly shocked at the question but said, "Yes it is possible but quite rare. It takes a lot of power to be able to manipulate dreams. Most can only watch other dreams and sometimes interact with them but not really make a difference. May I ask what this is about?"

Zeus' face got tighter as the evidence was confirmed and said, "We believe your son, Nathan, was responsible for the disappearance of Percy Jackson and making all the campers and gods hate him. We wanted to make sure he did indeed he have this ability since all other evidence pointed towards him."

Morpheus looked even more shocked at the accusation and said, "What? You really think he could do that? I do admit that he is one of my more powerful children but I didn't think he was that powerful. Am I correct in assuming that he implanted dreams of Percy doing acts to make you hate him?"

Aphrodite spoke up with anger lacing her voice. "Yes, all evidence points towards him and his abilities matches perfectly with the circumstances. We need to apprehend him and discuss a punishment for the demigod."

Morpheus nodded his head along with them even though he had more of a melancholy look. "While it saddens me that one of my children did such a despicable act, I would like to be included when you decide a punishment."

Zeus agreed that it was acceptable and they started debating on a punishment. Almost immediately, the death sentence came up and Morpheus frowned before speaking. "I believe that my son deserves a severe punishment but he is not the only one at fault."

He got many scandalized and inquisitive looks before he explained. "While he has the ability to manipulate dreams, he is not powerful enough to make the person's subconscious hate Percy. Only someone who truly believed that he didn't commit those acts would disregard the memory and assume it was a dream. Since everyone believed Percy did those acts, then no one really thought that it was impossible for Percy."

All of the gods' faces took on one of horror. If what Morpheus was saying was true, then they really believed it was possible for Percy to commit those acts. Somewhere they doubted their hero who saved them all so many times. Aphrodite started crying again now that she knew that she was partly to blame. Most of the other gods just looked depressed.

Zeus spoke up, "In light of this new revelation, I believe I have a suggestion for punishment." He looked around at all the gods before continuing. "I believe that we should first make him swear loyalty to Olympus and to never betray us again." He looked around and got all nods in return. "Next, since we were planning on making immortal camp counselors during the Summer Solstice, we should also make him one and require him to swear 100 years of service to the Olympian Council."

It took slightly longer but all the gods agreed that it was a fair punishment. They agreed to meet in one week's time to collect Nathan. They all left in silence lost in their own thoughts. Many had depressed looks and some had tears in their eyes. However, they started to pull themselves together because they knew that while what they did was unforgivable, they believed Percy still wouldn't want for them to beat themselves up over it. They were going to bring justice upon the perpetrator and make sure nothing like Percy's exile ever happened again. They failed their hero but they were going to fix their mess and improve what needed to be improved.

They all left the room leaving only still silence and a crackling hearth in the room. The next time they entered would be to punish the wrongdoer and start over with a new slate. They would never make the same mistake again.

All the gods gathered in the throne room except for Hermes who was retrieving Nathan. The silence still permeated the air and wouldn't be broken until two more entered the room. Each god was lost in thought or misery. Some like Poseidon looked broken and couldn't understand how they acted against Percy. Others tried for a stoic look but if someone looked closely was clearly forced.

The silence was broken with a flash revealing a god and a demigod. Hermes quickly walked to his throne while Nathan stood in the center of the room. Some of the gods glared balefully at him but were surprised to see that Nathan looked slightly worn out with his head held low and slight bags under his eyes. The gods wondered what was wrong with him but quickly focused and became angry again.

Zeus spoke up, "Do you know why you were called her today?"

Nathan slowly looked up and pulled himself together and said, "No, sir." He looked slightly better. Maybe he woke up not too long ago but when they thought about the time they knew it was only mid-afternoon which wasn't nap time for demigods. However, he was Morpheus' son.

Zeus broke them out of their thoughts and said, "You are on trial for the exile on Percy Jackson. What do you plead?" Most gods were glaring at the now bent head and they wished he would look up so they could see the fear on his face. However, what Nathan said next shocked them all to the core.

"Guilty." That one simple word let the silence once again descend amongst the gods. They thought he would deny it but then they thought about what Aphrodite said earlier about how he started feeling guilty over time and then add his appearance to the mix ... it stated to make sense to the gods. Nathan truly regretted his decision and it was hitting him hard because he couldn't fix it.

Zeus cleared his throat to bring everybody, including himself, back on topic. "Well if that is the case then you know that you will be punished severely for your actions." Nathan slowly nodded his head and raised it to lock eyes with Zeus. "I know what I did and I honestly regret it. I would gladly go back in time and fix what I did in my jealousy and anger but I know I can't do that. That is why I will accept whatever punishment is given to me and complete it to the best of my ability whether it is a job or even death."

The gods silently regarded the demigod and they truly did believe him. They could hear the conviction in his voice as he spoke about his deed and how he knew he deserved to be punished. He was a strong demigod that made a wrong choice and now he wanted to atone for it.

Zeus nodded his head and said, "Good. Your punishment is that you will swear an oath on the River Styx to never betray Olympus or the Demigod Camps ever again and also serve the Olympian Council for 100 years. You will be given immortality with some of the other campers on the Summer Solstice to complete this goal. You may never gain back the trust you once had but it is up to you what you do from here on out. I would recommend fixing the bridges you tore down before even being integrated into the camp. Do you accept your punishment?"

Nathan nodded his head and said, "I, Nathan Garrow, Son of Morpheus, swear on the River Styx to never betray Olympus or the Demigod Camps and to serve the Olympian council for 100 years." Thunder boomed outside the throne room signifying the legitimacy of the vow. The gods slowly relaxed now that they were sure Nathan was sincere and wasn't trying to trick them.

Zeus nodded and looked towards Morpheus who had been quiet so far. "Is there any way to destroy the memories your son has created without harming the bearer?"

Morpheus nodded and said, "I can destroy the ones in your head now and the demigods' when they fall asleep as to not cause harm." All the gods looked relieved and gave their permission for Morpheus to remove the memory like dream.

Morpheus closed his eyes and took on a look of deep concentration as his power spread out through the room. Soon, wisps of grey energy spread out from him and starting searching the room. Whenever a wisp neared a god it would wind around their head and sink into it. Nothing outwardly happened but when the gods tried to remember the dream they found that they couldn't.

As the last wisps sunk into Zeus' head, peaceful silence filled the room. Each god was relieved that the false memory was out of their minds. Zeus spoke up to declare the next step. "Now we need to let the demigods know about what has occurred. I believe this would be best to wait until tomorrow so they can attend without the memories. Agreed?" The gods nodded their heads in unison and the meeting was ended with a meeting time at noon tomorrow.

Nathan was flashed back to camp by Hermes and Hermes could tell that Nathan really regretted what he had done. However, he could also see determination to fix what he did to the best of his ability. Nathan would give it his all to atone for the sins he committed and would take his punishment well. As he dropped Nathan back at Camp Half-Blood, he couldn't help but think how much the camp had changed and how much it would still change after tomorrow. There was no telling how the meeting would end.

As night fell and the demigods fell asleep, Morpheus flashed down to camp and dug down deep into his well of power. He would need to send out a great amount of energy but also not enough to wake the campers. Subtly was key because if one of the more experienced campers sensed his energy then the alarm would most definitely go off. He really didn't want that to happen.

So, he gathered his energy and pushed it away from him before managing the strength of the wisps. He lowered their intensity as they moved further away from him until they were small little grey lines in the air. They made their way into the many different cabins and settled around the individual heads before disappearing inside their heads just like with the gods.

Morpheus finished and did the same for anyone at the other camp before flashing back to his temple to prepare for the coming day and the revelations soon to be revealed.

The demigods were surprised to hear from Chiron that the gods wanted to meet with the entire camp. There wasn't any urgency in his tone so they weren't necessarily worried but, of course, meeting with the entire Olympian Council would make anyone nervous.

The gods gathered in front of the demigods as they waited for the demigods to quiet down. Many noticed that Nathan was up on stage with the gods and suspected that he was someone involved in whatever this meeting was about. Whether it was good or bad had yet to be decided. Zeus stepped forward to speak. "Demigods, we have gathered you here to enlighten you about the deeds of another demigod." Here he motioned to Nathan who looked slightly above the crowd with almost a blank face but anyone who looked closely could tell that he looked a little down. "Nathan."

Nathan nodded his head and walked up front. He knew this was also part of his punishment. Speaking to the demigods about betraying them and their hero and hearing their angry cries that were sure to come would hit him hard.

Nathan firmed his resolve and spoke about what he did to the other demigods to get Percy exiled. He explained how he was jealous of him and honestly wanted to be like him and have his respect. He told them that he now understood what Percy did to gain that respect and how much he deserved to still lead this camp and it was wrong for him to try to take over by deceiving them. He made sure to state that he didn't expect or want instant forgiveness and didn't know whether anybody could ever come to give him another chance. He wanted to work for his forgiveness and show through his actions that he truly regretted his actions.

The demigods were at first struck silent as they processed what Nathan did. Then it morphed into anger and sadness at the loss of their hero. Surprisingly, many saw the true anguish and regret on Nathan's face and were surprised that they didn't feel that angry at him. They thought it might be because they knew Percy wouldn't have wanted them to hate Nathan even though he may deserve it.

As Nathan finished, the demigods descended into silence. Nathan stepped back and Zeus stepped forward again. "One thing he failed to add is that he is not totally to blame." A deeper silence settled in the crowd and they wondered who else was part of the plan. "While Nathan did provide the memories, it was our choice to accept those memories and believe that Percy committed these crimes." Horror spread across the crowd with that one statement.

Even though Zeus just dropped that severe statement, he kept going to bring up their spirits so they wouldn't wallow in self-pity. "Nathan has accepted his punishment and sworn an oath to never betray Olympus or the camps ever again. Now! Our hero is out there in this world thinking we betrayed and still scorn him. We will find him and bring him back home! The Hunters of Artemis will start the hunt for him while both camps send out several groups to search the country. Anyone who wants to participate in the search should meet with Chiron. Others will keep their eyes and ears open for hints of his location while on their other quests. Let's find our camp leader!"

Cheers rang out through the crowd as they slowly went along their way to either talk to Chiron or train extra hard while the motivation was with them. However, one child of Athena was left on her knees and was slightly hugging herself.

All the gods except one had already flashed and the one remaining god walked up to Annabeth and looked down upon her with a neutral expression. Annabeth slowly looked up with a tear-stained expression when the looming shadow came over her.

"You should've known better than to accuse Perseus of disloyalty." Aphrodite said in a tone that matched her expression and continued. "Have you not considered the fact that his fatal flaw is loyalty? Or the fact that he risked his life and jumped to the depths of Tartarus, just to protect you? We all fell for the memory but he was different for you. He gave you his all and even shared with you his weakness. He gave you every part of himself." Aphrodite paused as she looked at the girl.

Aphrodite spoke up again. "He wanted to give you this." Aphrodite grabbed her hand and placed a small item in her palm before walking away.

Annabeth's eyes widened as she examined the ring. Once her eyes rested on the inscription inside, she looked like a dagger stabbed her and was yanked out of her heart before being replaced with a white hot branding iron rod as the floodgates reopened.

Sobs racked her body as she clutched the ring close to her heart. Aphrodite glanced over her shoulder and she didn't know whether to be horrified or not.

Because for the first time in her existence, she didn't feel the usual pain that accompanied a broken heart.

For the first time in her lifetime, she actually enjoyed breaking a heart.

Aphrodite then looked ahead of her and flashed out, leaving the lingering smell of jasmine and roses.

How did you like it! Once again I would like to thank Adventures_girl_99 for the help in writing this chapter.

For all the people who keep on asking me when he'll meet Chaos or go back to Earth, Omega has two more adventures before meeting Chaos again and Omega returning to Earth is still pretty far off.

Also, I have been writing other fan fictions slowly but surely whenever I feel like writing something else. Would you guys like me to post these stories even though the updates would be extremely slow? Like maybe months for these other stories to update. If I get enough people saying yes then I'll post some up.

Well, hope you guys are lovin the story so far and stick with it! Some of your comments make me laugh at the most random of times and I love reading what you come up with while you read the story. Also, if you have any questions there is a questions chapter for you to post your questions on. Remember to look at the other questions before adding yours to the pot. Most have already been answered and it gets annoying answering them over and over again.

Alright so I'm done with this commentary for now and I'll see you at the next chapter!

12,300/95,000


	21. Open the Damn Doors!

~~~ 5 years later ~~~

Omega once again found himself spinning round and round in his drawing room. He still didn't know why exactly he kept doing this but since his motivation was going down, he issued himself a challenge. The official challenge was to spin around as many times as he could before falling over and possible unconsciousness from extreme dizziness. He checked his last record which was 1453 and now he was at 1605 ... 1606 ... 1607 ... Clump!

Omega saw a swirling ceiling as his now new position provided him such an exquisite view. He thought straight boards were so half a century ago anyway and actually kind of liked the curved look. It almost looked like a completely solid piece of wood.

He groaned as he clumsily got up and semi-propped himself on a chair facing towards the barely distinguishable map. He threw the dart as straight as he could but couldn't stop his momentum and once again found himself on the floor.

He allowed himself a couple minutes like that until he grudgingly got up to sit in a chair. He sat there for ten more minutes rubbing the sides of his head hopping a headache wasn't coming. He must have spun for at least 30 minutes and his head was throbbing. At least any torturers who decided to try to spin him to death would get bored before that happened.

When the world stopped spinning, he slightly stumbled over to the map and looked for the dart. He found it on the bottom right corner barely standing on it. He really needed to work on his aim.

That area of the map wasn't near any big stars so he was a dark planet with minimal light. If he looked closely he could see two moons orbiting around it so at least had some light might be reflected onto the planet. He had to focus twice as hard to read the barely legible name.

Apparently it was called Shadov ... so Shadov the shadow planet ... people needed to give more creative names to planets. Just because it's in a dark place that's most likely not going to be seen didn't mean it shouldn't have an awesome name! He was so going to find a way to change planet names and go on a campaign to fix the universe. Saving people can go back on his list for a time. This was a dire need.

He debated at looking up the description of the planet but decided against it. It liked being surprised and if there was a chance, which would most likely be a big chance, then it would be a bad description and he would dread going before he even got there. Anyway, adventures were always more entertaining when you had no idea what to suspect.

Since Vinesta was near the center of the many galaxies that have been explored, he had to travel planet to planet for over a month to finally reach Shadov. Omega wasn't too happy at losing so much time but he quickly got over it since there wasn't anything he could do about it.

However, as he looked upon the dark and desolate chunk of rock from its neighboring planet, he almost wished it took him longer to reach it. He couldn't see any city lights so there either were very small towns or it really was a desolate planet.

It would have been the exact same place as Danar if it wasn't for the two moon orbiting around the planet. One was white like Earth's moon but the other had a yellowish tint to it giving off an eerie presence.

Since he couldn't see any landmarks, he decided to just mist travel randomly on the planet hoping to pop up near a city or at least not a dangerous situation, which happened to him more than he could count.

As he landed on the hard ground, his first impression was exactly how he thought it would be ... boring. He could faintly see the horizon across the many miles of flatlands since the white moon shined bright enough. The air had enough moisture in it to make a small item with it but it definitely wasn't much. Also, the planet had a cold chill to it which would have bugged Omega if his core wasn't made of fire. However, he did feel the cold presence of being watched and it almost made a shiver run up his spine. IT had been a long time since he felt that way.

Omega wondered around for the next few hours and did some exercises and stretches to keep active. He also warmed up his arms because as the white moon descended, that cold chill only increased. When the yellow moon finally crested the horizon, Omega stopped in his tracks he felt the familiar tingling sensation he had come to learn as a warning sign of an impending attack.

He looked around with his hand on the pommel of his sword but didn't see anything. He didn't let down his guard though knowing that not seeing anything didn't mean it wasn't there. He unscrewed the cap to his water bottle and turned the water to mist so he could see if there were any physical manifestations in the area.

He didn't sense anything at the moment but when the yellow moon in its entirety rose into view, the sensation seemed to hit its peak. Omega pulled out one of his swords for the almost guaranteed fight about to happen.

He sensed something 20 feet behind him start to form out of thin air and he whirled around to see some grotesque creature that would make any other person start throwing up. However, Omega had seen and been through worse so it didn't affect him too much. Still, it unnerved him because it was an unknown factor capable of who knows what.

When it done forming, it stood there looking at Omega with a surprised, confused, and joyful face all combined into one. Its body was misshapen and jutted out in many different directions with sharp points. Its body was a mix between black, grey, and dark purple which didn't help with seeing it very well in the dark environment.

It now just stood there smirking at Omega as if waiting for something. Soon, Omega felt what he was waiting for. More beings started to just appear or rise out of the ground, circling Omega. Evil chuckling could be heard all around him with some hissing noises which was probably their way of communicating.

Omega got into a defensive stance so he could assess his opponents while fighting and stood ready for anything they could throw at him. They all stayed there for a minute assessing each other before a pompous enemy, judging by his smirking face and the stance he had, walked towards Omega with a weird looking sword Omega had never seen before. Omega faced towards the attacker but kept an eye on the others.

Apparently, this was going to be a one on one duel judging by the lack of motion from the viewers. The thing stopped 10 feet in front of Omega and just stood there looking proud and invincible. At least, that was what Omega thought he was trying to look like. He honestly thought he looked a little ridiculous with his chest puffed out even though parts of it was pointing back inside him like the other parts of his body.

Omega decided to try the route of talking it out instead of fighting first. "Hello there strange being. I guess I crashed your, umm, monster party. Soooo, I guess I should be going." Before Omega could even take a step away, the thing charged at him with a slice at neck level that Omega easily blocked.

Of course, he could have easily mist traveled away but what was the point? He came to this planet to have an adventure and increase his knowledge of the universe. What better way was there to learn about others than by fighting them?

Omega was solely on defense for the moment to get the feel of his attacker's strike patterns. He saw many openings available to him. It looked like the thing used a mix between brute strength then added a few quick slashes to try and confuse his opponents. However, what Omega was waiting for was to see if he had any abilities.

Omega inwardly laughed at the thing's obvious frustration at not slashing him to little bits and its swordplay only grew sloppier. All of the sudden the sword did a phase shift from solid to vapor back to solid past Omega's sword and Omega fell flat on his back to dodge it. He followed through with a back roll and kicked up to hit him in the face.

Luckily Omega was waiting for something like that to happen so he was prepared for anything. That was a neat trick and he would have to practice with an ice sword. It would be a shock for any of his opponents.

Now that Omega learned something from his attacker, he decided that it was time to end it. It may have more abilities but Omega guessed the others wouldn't be as cool if he did.

All the things around him had a shocked look on their face and Omega guessed that was its signature move. He watched as his opponent collected himself but stepped back in fear once their eyes locked.

"Before I kill you, I would like to know if you can understand me and if so what race are you? I highly doubt this planet is uninhabited so I will find out sooner or later. I would of course like to find out sooner than later but, hey, I guess it doesn't really matter." Omega swept his eyes over the silent crowd and back to the terrified thin in front of him just giving him a look without emotion. It wasn't anywhere even close to a slight glare.

The being straightened its back and gained a confident expression. Omega wondered for a quick second where the false confidence came from because he wouldn't have been scared in the beginning if whatever he is thinking right now was already with him. "We are a small unit of the shadow clan." He said this with pride as if the shadow clan is the top agency of the world. You know ... Omega didn't doubt that it was at least up there since the planet was pretty much uninhabited.

The being continued unaware of Omega's wandering thoughts. "We strike fear into the hearts of the puny people on this planet and kill anyone who tried to leave outside their walls." He smirked at Omega. "Just like we are about to do to you for leaving the walls safety."

Well that was helpful information. Apparently there was regular people around here somewhere that stayed within walls for safety. Then the fact that this weird spiky creature spoke English sunk in and really surprised Omega. "You speak English!" Omega was hopping it did but he didn't really suspect.

He knew Chaos, for some reason, made English a main language of the universe. Honestly, Omega thought there were much better languages out there but he didn't question it since it made his life easier.

Omega looked around all the apparently happy faces and almost shook his head at how cocky they were. He thought it was pretty obvious he was toying with the guy the whole time. He almost just threw a knife in the things head when he had the audacity to smirk at him. He was definitely going to die first.

"You can stop pretending with is child. We know you're scared out of your wits and are just trying to suppress it behind laughing." Omega didn't like the smug tone either but Omega just chuckled to get a rise out of it.

"I'm not scared of you guys. I have tougher people in much bigger numbers and came out without a scratch. What makes you think you could beat me? You tried with all your might to just scratch me and yet I wasn't even trying. I recommend you leave now with your lives or die by my hand." Omega was actually looking forward to the fight. New enemies, new fighting styles and the thrill of fighting were all things Omega looked forward to when visiting a new planet.

The warrior growled and hissed some type of command to his companions which most likely meant charge judging by the now charging enemies. Omega just smirked and pulled out his other sword under his cloak. He positioned himself slightly sideways into an unbreakable stance waiting for his first attacker to reach him.

He started the battle with a quick decapitation much to the surprise of the warriors who didn't even see the sword move. Second thoughts passed through their heads but the battle had already started and they were determined to finish it.

~~~ Two minutes and 20 seconds later ~~~

30 dead, deformed bodies were lying on the ground around Omega who looked on dispassionately. He shrugged his shoulders being a little disappointed at the skill these things had. He decided to set up camp on the old battlefield to hopefully ward off any others that wanted to test their luck. And even though Omega's luck like to mess up his life, he was usually pretty lucky on the battlefield.

He hunkered down in his tent and had some homemade Macaroni and Cheese. The desolate landscape was mostly free of sound with the occasional growls and screeches off in the distance. He went into his meditative sleep and waited for the white moon to rise.

He woke up ten hours later and guessed the day cycle was around the same as Earth's if not a little less. He walked out of his tent and stretched a little before continuing on his journey. He snacked a little as he walked through the bleak area.

However, two minutes into his journey he ran into a small group of monsters. After dispatching them, he ran into some more not five minutes later. This continued for about an hour and Omega assumed the yellow moon was like a spawning time for these monsters while the white moon just didn't affect them.

To avoid fighting every few steps he started mist traveling miles at a time. It was around mid-yellow sun when he saw small lights on the horizon. With renewed spirits, he quickly made his way over to them and came about grand walls and a solid wooden gate.

He saw a couple of guards patrolling on top and guessed they didn't see him pop up near the gates. From afar, they had a similar body structure to humans except for all of them being around five feet tall and broader than usual which reminded him of dwarves.

Now that he was closer, he could tell the guards weren't really looking outside the gates except for a few quick glances and wondered if they were just cocky of their strength or if some magic literally prevented things from entering. If magic was involved, then it would make sense as to why that thing made the reference of being outside the walls and now free game.

Omega started to sense the being reforming and knew in a few minutes he would be fighting the shadow clan again. He quickly ran up to the gate and shouted up at the guards, "Hello! Can you open the gates!?" Omega could have easily mist traveled inside but he didn't want to have to go incognito the entire time.

Omega chuckled when the guards jumped five feet into the air ... literally ... and landed on their bums. They looked over the edge and had surprised looks to see someone below them with a cloak and mask.

Of course, the guards were already skeptical of the guy but the yellow moon was out and with it a being of unimaginable power was out too. It was known by the people to lure others into a false sense of security when they left the walls and had tried a few times to get them to open up the gates.

"Ha!" One of the guards yelled. "You're not tricking us to open the gates, beast!" Omega didn't really think he looked like a beast and didn't really appreciate being called one. He debated mist traveling up there and knocking some sense into them but calmed himself before he did something he would later on regret. He need to gain their trust not make them fear him.

"Umm, I can assure you I'm not a beast!" He yelled up to the guards. He sensed he had about a minute before the recently killed shadow _beasts_ came out to play. "Hey! So a shadow clan group is about to reform so could you please let me in before they try to get their revenge." Omega really hoped they would let him in. He just killed a quite large group and they had these weird bird things that were extremely fast and a pain in the ass.

Apparently the guards weren't satisfied with his reasoning. "We will not be deceived by your lies dusk shade! I bet there are plenty of shadow clan warriors ready to barrel in here should we open the gates!" Omega sighed and felt the shadow clan warriors already complete reform and surround him.

The guards along the wall snickered when they saw the easily read sneak attack the dusk shade tried to initiate. They must have given up and plan on trying to barrel their way through since they were gathering around their leader. They were even pulling out their weapons to hack away at the wall.

They grew amused when the dusk shade sighed and pulled out its swords. They weren't worried since the wall was protected by the magic of the people and as long as the gates stayed closed, nothing could get through, above, or below into the city.

The guards just rolled their eyes as they watched the clan completely surround their leader preparing to attack the wall. However, they stood up a little straighter when one of the warriors charged the dusk shade. They were surprised to see the shade dodge out of the way and follow through with an upward slash cutting the vile thing in half.

All at once the monsters attacked the ... well, apparently not the dusk shade ... and the guards lowered their heads in shame of condemning this cloaked figure to be torn apart by the shadow clan. However, they were surprised to see him hanging on.

"A little help guys!" The cloak figured yelled up at them, knocking them out of their shock. They quickly grabbed their bows and started fire at the surrounding monsters. After two minutes, the shadow warriors were gone leaving a heavily breathing cloaked figure outside the gates.

"Now will you let me in!? I only have several minutes before they reappear!"

"How do we know that wasn't an act to trick us into opening the gates!?" One guard called out with the others nodding their head in agreement. The top of the wall now hosted around 20 guards with most coming over to see what the commotion was.

"For the love of ... I'm not a dusk shade or whatever that is!" Omega was about to just leave because it was pretty obvious they didn't want to open their doors. He paused when he saw the guards huddle together and crossed his arms impatiently as they talked.

"So, not much is known about the dusk shade but I heard he can't lie, only trick." One guard said with most others agreeing. Another guard spoke up and said, "That isn't a guaranteed fact. However, the wall's magic repels any monster, shadow warrior, and even the dusk shade. So, if he puts his hand on it, then we could tell if he is one of them." More heads nodded to this.

One guard spoke up, "Also, we can learn more about what has been going on in the universe since we can't leave. The ship he used to get here was probably destroyed by their aerial monsters and now he is stranded. I couldn't rest easy if he was a stranded person and we turned him away." All of the guards nodded their heads at that one.

Even though most would expect the people trapped on the dark, desolate planet in constant danger of monsters to be bitter, they were actually one of the kindest society since they knew the hardships of life and didn't wish them upon others. The soldiers were brought out of their thoughts when they heard a lot of screeching coming towards them and they knew they took too long to decide.

They quickly went to the edge of the wall and saw the cloaked figure sheath his swords and take out small knives. The guards looked on in horror at the small little birds that looked harmless as long as you didn't count their sharp beaks with serrated teeth on the inside. The people call them the Carnic Birds since they were carnivorous birds who eat the flesh of their prey in under a second.

It would only take just 10 of them to tear someone apart and pretty much instantly kill them. However, there were at least 50 of these birds swooping down to attack Omega. The guards looked down sadly at Omega now feeling even guiltier. Even if he was a great swordsmen to kill the warriors, these birds could easily get around his defenses and tear him apart. They did admire his courage though and the spirit to not give up until the end.

Omega got into a ready stance with his throwing knives in hand. He calculated his options and surveyed his surroundings. To his back was the wall but everything else was open wasteland that didn't provide any cover. He looked towards the birds and guessed he could kill at least 10 of them with his throwing knives before they got to him.

He then could run just out of their reach and slowly start to kill off the birds. The running and sprinting challenges he issued to himself would really start to pay off. Right when the birds got into range, he was able to kill 12 birds before he had to turn and run along the wall. He jogged at first allowing the birds to catch up but then matched their speed when they got within 5 feet from him. They were a little faster than he thought and had to equip his ice exoskeleton.

Several decades ago he willed the water to form lines going across his body, tracing his bones on the outside of his skin. He then would run as fast as he could to reach his top speed. After that, he would will the water to give him a greater push off the ground and also bring his legs forward much quicker. It took him a whole year of constant practice to master it since the timing had to be perfect. All he had to do was miss a step or overstep and he would immediately slam into the ground, greatly injuring himself.

Now that he matched their speed, he kept throwing his knives at the birds and one by one their numbers started to fall. After killing the last one, he had run for about 5 minutes back to the guards and was amazed at how far the birds chased him. He wondered what the guards on the wall thought happened to him.

The guards watched in awe and sympathy as they watched the cloak figure skillfully kill a fifth of the birds but soon ran off being chased by the rest. He was outside the torches' light just 10 seconds after running and he hadn't come back in 10 minutes. They knew they weren't going to see the mysterious man again and they slowly took up their stations wishing they just opened the door for him.

"HEY!" All the guards jumped in surprise recognizing the voice and instantly went back to the gates to see the mysterious cloak guy just waving up at them. He started in a sweet tone, "Can you please OPEN THE DAMN DOORS!" but ended in a very frustrated tone. "I would like to not have to worry about other monsters attacking me and I'm quite surprised the shadow clan hasn't attacked me. So could you please open the doors so I can finally get some rest!?"

The guards still stared in shock at how this man was still alive and without even a scratch (also in confusion of the word damn which was new to them). They were still definitely suspicious of this character but they pretty much decided that this guy was trapped in this hostile world and needed someplace to stay.

The guards gave each other a nod and some split off to open the gates that have stayed closed for over 100 years. The chains of the door squeaked as they were pulled on and rubbed up against the other chains. The great, dark wood doors opened and Omega instantly sprinted inside and pushed the doors closed.

The guards were a little startled when the guy just sprinted inside and for a second they thought they made a mistake until the guy started to try and push the doors closed. They were actually dumbstruck that this guy was pushing the doors closed all by himself when it took 6 of their strongest guards to pull it open.

Once the doors closed, Omega slumped on the inside of the walls against the doors and sighed still pretending to be tired. The guards walked up to him and pointed some weird looking weapons at him which almost made Omega laugh at how strange the sight looked ... not including the people.

The guards without armor were around 5 feet tall and very stocky. They were definitely strong judging by their bulging muscles and chiseled facial features. They had small horns growing on the tops of their heads which reminded Omega of satyrs. Their skin looked like grey ash without any sunlight. Omega wondered how different his tan skin would be compared to them. It almost made him want to take off his cloak ... almost.

"Hey guys," Omega fake panted and tiredly smiled. "Thanks for opening the doors. By the sound of it they haven't opened for quite some time." Omega looked at the guards' faces and was at least happy not to see any hostility, only wariness and curiosity.

One of the guards with armor stepped up and looked Omega over. He seemed like the man in charge based on his stance and official looking emblems on his armor. "Welcome to the city of Hawlo, young one. You are correct that the door hasn't opened for quite some time. I think it's been a little over 100 years since they've been opened."

Omega just looked shocked. He could tell it had been a while but he would have only guessed like one or two years. Not a 100! He didn't like to show how strong he actually was. Even though he did harden some water under his palms which helped him close the doors.

His silence must have shown that he was shocked and the guards gave a hearty laugh at the boy. They wished they could see his face but the mask and hood hid every part of his body. Even his arms and legs were wrapped in a cloth. He didn't have any external differences that could give away his race like pincers, antennae, or horns.

There was a silence between the soldiers and Omega as each looked over each other and gathered their thoughts. Omega was in their city so he didn't want to just get up and roam while the guards were trying to think of what to do with this mysterious boy who could survive an entire shadow clan attack plus those mean ass birds.

Omega broke the silence, "Soooo, what now? I thank you for opening the doors and allowing me into the city but I don't know your customs or way around the area." Omega, of course, would love to be allowed to wander around but the guards were kind of blocking his way forward and he sure as hell wasn't going to go backwards into the desolate plains.

The head guard said, "I guess we can take you to the village in the center and tell you about this place on our way. Do you know anything about this planet?" The guard was curious as to what this kid knew about the planet. He couldn't think of any possible sane person coming here with the knowledge of what would be waiting for them.

Omega simply said, "No. I was just going to random planets looking for adventure and my dart landed on this planet. I just got onto this planet yesterday a few hours before the white moon set so I haven't been here long. I'm glad I found you guys. I probably would have wandered aimlessly for a long time." The guards looked at this kid in shock. This kid survived a full night of a yellow moon when just an hour outside was considered impossible.

The guards watched Omega walk beside them in silence. He seemed like a good kid but there was something that was affecting his mood. His people were known for their emotion reading skills which was unknown to most of the universe because no one ever visited. Not that they blame them.

The guard asked in a questioning tone, "How far out were you when your ship was destroyed?" The guard rose an eyebrow at the kid who put a finger under his chin thinking.

Omega didn't know why he would think his ship would be destroyed so he decided to play along without giving solid answers. "What made you assume my ship was destroyed?" He hadn't seen any docking stations yet but he just assumed that they were in the city.

The guard was baffled. If this kid didn't know why they would ask that question, then he may have been able to land safely and would be able to leave. The looks on the other guards showed that they had the same idea with their hopeful expressions.

Omega thought he must have said something to give away how abnormal he is compared to them judging by their hopeful expressions but he didn't know why.

The guard ask a little curiously trying to hide his hopeful tone, "You really don't know why your ship would have been destroyed?" Omega just shrugged his shoulders. The guard continued, "There are aerial monsters preventing ships from entering or leaving the planet. Anybody who survives the crash of their ship either finds their way to a village or dies when they run across monsters. So, what happened to your ship?"

Omega was caught. He couldn't really tell them he just teleported here and he didn't want to outright lie about a monster destroying his ship. "I was able to land my ship a good distance away from here." He sighed inwardly. He didn't like to lie to these kind people but he couldn't say he had special powers that could wipe them all out. "Only thing is that when I left, monsters charged at the ship and I think are now making it a base or something. I didn't stay around long enough to find out." He hoped this would be a good enough explanation for the guards and was relieved that the guards got a saddened look meaning they believed him and escape was yet again taken away from them.

The guard sighed and said, "Ah, oh well. We're glad you made it out safe and sound. We are happy to gain such a skilled fighter. Of course, you will have to find some type of work here so you can pay for food and other services." He looked the kid over but the cloak just hid everything but the dual swords on his back. However, when he looked at them, they looked like they had a clear coating around them preventing them from being drawn. He also knew that two swords were under his cloak with knives.

One thing he noticed when the kid was fighting the birds was that the knives he used disappeared once they fell to the ground. He had a suspicion that the kid used magic on the knives and if this kid could perform magic, then village life could greatly benefit with his help. They pretty much needed all the help they could get in any form they could whether it was food all the way to weapons.

It took them about an hour to reach the stables and three more hours to finally reach the village on horseback. By the end of the ride Omega was really missing Sylvia because riding on horseback sucked!

The guard told Omega that the wall stretched all around hundreds of miles of land where they were able to grow crops, build shelters, schools, and other much needed buildings. The population was about 2000 which surprised Omega at how few there were in such a big area even if it was a desolate planet.

Omega could see a few scattered buildings here and there on the farms but the land mostly contained crops that Omega had never seen before. When they finally got to the center, Omega was surprised to see an old style town, not even close to looking like a city. Even with few people, you would think they would still advance enough to build taller buildings.

As they walked into the city towards wherever the guards were taking Omega, people started to notice that there was a new person among them and the whispers started. "Who is he?" "I can't believe we have a visitor." "Now he's trapped like us." Stuff like that.

The guard led Omega to the center building which was the tallest at 3 stories high. It was made out of the same rocky material as the walls and had two windows on each wall and basically looked like a standard house. Definitely nothing fancy.

The inside wasn't much different. There was plain wood and stone furniture. However, you could tell wood furniture was rarer because only the couch was wood and pretty much everything else was stone. Luckily there were small cushions to make sitting at least a little more comfortable.

"Jerough! We have a visitor!" The guard shouted up the stairs. There was a muffled 'coming' from probably the third floor and they waited. Judging by the sound of the footsteps coming down the stairs, Omega was expecting for this Jerough to be one of the biggest of these people. However, he was yet again surprised.

Jerough was about average height and had an average build for the people. What was making him sound so loud was his stone foot ... Wait ... stone foot! Omega took a closer look thankful for the mask so the guy wouldn't be able to tell if he was staring. However, Jerough must have been able to tell and just chuckled saying, "Nice feet, huh. Names Jerough." Jerough held out his hand.

Omega inwardly flinched with surprise that he was caught but he didn't let any of that show on the outside and shook his hand. "My name is Omega. Yes, I have never seen someone with stone feet before. By the way, thank you for your kindness of sheltering me. If there is anything you wish of me just ask." Omega did a slight bow and waited for his response.

Jerough was a little surprised that Omega's voice sounded like a young adult. "I'm surprised you were able to convince my guards to open the gate. Alright, what skills do you have so we can see what you would be best suited at doing since, I'm sorry, but you're stuck here." The guy sighed because the last visitor he had almost freaked out and took years to come to peace that he was stuck. However, this young man just nodded his head and said, "Umm, I don't really specialize in anything so I can't say what skills I have."

The guards behind them started coughing and the word 'fighting' could be heard between them. Jerough raised an eyebrow and said, "So you're skilled at fighting. May I ask how the guards came to know you were skilled at fighting?" He hoped that they didn't find out by them fighting but he quickly crossed out that option judging by he wasn't in handcuffs and the guards weren't injured.

Omega shrugged, "Nothing much. I just fought some of those shadow warrior guys and birds." Jerough gave a questioning look to his guards and they added a little more detail. "He slew about 30 shadow warriors and 50 Carnic Birds. He also apparently survived a night under the yellow moon." Jerough looked incredulously at Omega. Just the warriors alone was impossible. Omega was definitely a mystery man with skilled abilities and having a cloak and mask didn't help his mysteriousness at all.

Jerough spoke up, "Well I don't know what 'nothing much' is where you come from but here that is beyond imaginable. We actually have a barracks that anyone is allowed to train in but no one knows any proper fighting routines or anything. They just practice and make up their own moves. If you could instruct them then that could earn your keep here." Jerough was quite happy with this news. They had never had a skilled fighter to be able to teach them anything so this could be a great help with fighting against those warriors.

Omega thought about it. He would still leave in a little more than 10 months and the rest of the planet seemed to be the same desolate place he had to go through. Also, he could help out all these people by sharing his knowledge. "Sure, I'd be glad to teach you guys." The guards were struck silent at the opportunity to learn how to properly fight. Cheers rose up from the five guards and they gave Omega clasps on the back and handshakes saying they couldn't wait for tomorrow. Omega's apparent young age didn't even cross their minds.

Omega didn't really like the attention he was getting since he hadn't really been in a crowd in so long but he was happy that they were so excited to learn. He could have some fun teaching them and probably do some watered down training with them.

Jerough smiled at his guards' excitement and said to the head guard, "Klock, would you please give Omega a tour around the town and show him the barracks." He then turned towards Omega. "Would you be able to start teaching tomorrow or do you want to take a break after fighting so many of those monsters?" He must have been exhausted after fighting that many of them, however, Jerough couldn't really see any tired features about Omega.

"Nah, I can start tomorrow." Omega said. He turned around and the guards led him outside into the city. A small crowd was gathered around the town hall waiting to get a good look at the stranger. They were a little relieved to see the guards laughing with the masked man which hopefully meant he was no threat. Although, the mask and cloak still made the people a little nervous.

Klock announced to the crowd, "This is Omega! He is an incredibly skilled fighter and has agreed to become our instructor!" The crowd let out a burst of cheers. Even the non-fighters knew the guards had no official training so someone who could give them proper instruction was worth cheering about. They quickly forgot about their nervousness about the cloaked man and now saw hope and safety he could provide. 

Another Chapter is up! Thanks for being patient with me and as a late Thanksgiving gift I spent my trip home finishing up this chapter and some of the next. So, hope you liked it and stay tuned for next the chapter.

Also, we breached 100K words! Woop Woop! The next question is when we'll breach the 200K word count?!

6700/102700


	22. Savior Once Again

After an hour of people coming to introduce themselves to Omega, the guards were finally able to start the tour of the village. All in all, it wasn't very big considering the vast amount of land they had. There was the town house being the largest, around 20 buildings built for crafts and trades, another 30 or so for apartment/houses, and a good bit of one story buildings built to hold supplies. There were of course many other houses dotting around the land where the farmers lived but they decided that long of a tour was completely unnecessary.

They walked around for a bit talking about the purpose of each building. While looking at the people, Omega saw the poverty of everyone in this place with no exception, not even the mayor. They weren't emaciated or anything but most were on the thin side. The building materials were shaped crudely and the whole infrastructure of the buildings looked quite unstable with small nails holding the planks together. However, Omega didn't see almost any trees which explained why most of the buildings and furniture were made out of stone.

Klock spoke very highly of the town even though it looked completely run down in Omega's eyes. He talked the whole time during the tour and how they had been making progress over the years. They started to learn new techniques and the newer buildings and tools were much better than their previous ones.

Omega was curious as to why he didn't see any launching pads for ships but remembered that Klock said something about monsters destroying it. "Why exactly can't ships come in and out again?" Of course, it wouldn't matter to Omega if he wanted to get off the planet or not but he wondered if he could help the people or something.

While Klock was happy this Omega guy came and was willing to teach him, Klock knew he was mysterious in more than just looks. He would quickly change the subject if the guards asked anything about his life before they met him which of course would make anyone wary. "There are aerial monsters that stay above 100 feet in the air. They are invisible and are pretty much indestructible. They destroy any ships that come into orbit which is surprising that they let yours in?" Klock replied. He purposely made it a question at the end to see if Omega would give a reason why. This could drastically help their civilization.

Omega just shrugged and said, "I guess I got lucky. Why are there so few animals here?" Omega quickly changed the subject which didn't go unnoticed by the guards that were trying to find a way to make him spill his secrets.

Klock sighed depressingly and said, "The planet is not meant for living things. As you can tell, there are very few plants that are green, few animals which means very little meat, and the people live a very poor life. At least, the people who get stranded on this planet say it is poor."

Omega just nodded his head and said, "Yeah, most places I have been are better than this. However, where I come from there are large groups of people like this while others live as pigs and have all the comforts they could ask for." Omega really didn't like the people who treated the poor unfavorably and looked down on them just because they didn't have money.

Klock was glad he didn't live in a place like that. This village was able to survive because everyone did their share and looked after each other. There was no room for selfish people so people never became selfish. The children were always taught to help others just like their parents and parents before them.

Klock said, "Life is pretty hard since we have to make or grow whatever we want. Without spaceships, we aren't able to trade with other planets and help our standing and possibly even find a way to fight back against the dusk shade and his monsters." It infuriated Klock how useless he was for his people since he couldn't get rid of the threat he was hired to eliminate while just lazing around guarding a wall. He didn't like to get paid to do nothing and he hoped Omega could help him and his men become better soldiers.

Omega really could see the hardship of having to do everything yourself. His train of thought switched abruptly, remembering that Klock called him a dusk shade at the wall and it piqued his curiosity as to what it was. "Klock, what is a dusk shade?" Omega saw the leader of the guards and the other soldiers shiver in fear before Klock spoke up.

"He is a being of darkness that leads the shadow warriors. He has the ability to morph into the shape of any living being and can use the shadows to travel wherever he wants. He is known for his skill with changing into different creatures and decimating armies. Back when the walls first were built thousands of years ago, the leaders of the village gathered an army and went against the dusk shade and minions." Klock grew a dark look. "The dusk shade alone took out more than half the army and injured many more."

Omega felt sorry for these people. An enemy stronger than most of them combined was just waiting for something to happen to the walls so it could wreak havoc and destroy the village.

Klock continued with a little more positive of a tone but still depressed, "One thing that hinders it when talking is that it cannot lie, at least, that is what is rumored. The only thing keeping it out of the city is the magic imbued into the walls and gates. It prevents any being of pure darkness from attacking and destroying the gate or wall." Klock really didn't like thinking about how powerful the dusk shade was and what would happen if he got inside the walls.

Omega was surprised to hear the people had magic but still live in poverty and despair. "If you guys have magic, why not use it to help better the city and fight against the monsters?" Omega had been to some planets with magic users and they were usually very impressive. Even without training, magic can come naturally and could be enhanced to make the spell stronger.

Klock said in a saddened tone, "The elders who imbued the gates with magic have long since died and we have only two magic people in the town now. They are what is keeping the small amount of plant life and animals alive by making the ground fertile and putting the nutrients needed into the food for the animals. However, they only know that kind of magic and are too tired after doing their duties to practice other forms of magic."

"Oh," was Omega's smart response. He guessed it would make sense that the small amount of living things would have to have some type of extra help to live in this desolate place. Omega wished he had some type of power to help these people but control over water and fire couldn't do much in helping people survive unless in a fight.

Since they were on the topic of magic, Klock asked Omega, "Can you do magic?" That question had been on the guards' minds for some time now and they were hoping he would say yes. However, their hopes were crushed again when they got a no.

Klock kept pushing the topic, "Okay, do you have any magic items?" He wanted to see if Omega would lie about the items which in turn could mean he lied about having magic. However, Omega could tell by the way Klock asked the question that he already knew the answer and knew not to lie about this.

Omega said, "Yes, I do have some magic items. I got some things enchanted at the planet Mistoic. Which ones do you know of?" Omega was curious. However, he mentally face palmed that they would have seen the knives disappear. Now they knew he had more than one.

Klock was a little surprised he had more than one and said, "I saw your knives disappear and I assume they came back to you. What other magic items do you have?" Klock could tell that they were probably all weapon related since he was a warrior and guessed that the swords on his back were magic swords judging by the clear coating around them.

Omega liked it when the guards were surprised because of him and was glad he still had the mysterious air about him. "Yes, my knives return to me after their momentum runs out. For my other items ... you'll either see them when I use them or they will forever remain a mystery. I can guarantee you will see another by the end of today though." Omega smirked under his mask at the looks of the guards. The guards didn't like not knowing what these items were but if they were just weapons, then it wouldn't really make that much of a difference.

They finally made it to a building where sounds of swords clashing together and thunks of arrows sinking into their targets could be heard. The building itself was the size of a two story building but with only one floor. It was made purely out of stone and was probably the biggest building he had seen since coming here.

Klock smiled at his old training base. It had been many years since he had last seen it and he had definitely missed it. He led the small group into the building and opened the doors while saying, "Welcome to the barracks!'

Omega was a little disappointed with it honestly. They had a few straw dummies here and there and their archery range was planks of wood with a dot painted in the center. A side of a wall must have been the armory with a decent amount of weapons but limited choices of swords, daggers, spears, and bows and arrows. Also, the weapons weren't made that well either. All in all, Omega had his work cut out for him if he was going to teach these people.

Their entrance caught the attention of most of the soldiers who turned towards the small group of men and eyed the cloaked figure warily with their weapons ready to be put to use if needed. Klock stood up straight and proud before addressing the crowd of soldiers.

"Men, this is Omega." Klock said gesturing to Omega which Omega just stood there passively. "He got stuck on this planet and his new job is to be a trainer for us so we can finally make advancements into the dark world outside the walls." Klock let that sink in.

The soldiers starting whispering to each other and sizing up Omega. Even though the men were shorter than him, they were much bulkier and stronger, easily surpassing Omega in the strength category. Because of this, many men already thought this was a joke and chuckled to themselves. The smarter and older soldiers knew not to judge a book by its cover and stood by passively waiting to see what would happen.

One guard burst out laughing and said, "How in the world could a puny guy like him teach us anything!? I bet he could barely lift a sword. I'm not going to let some squirt of a man teach me how to do my job!" The guard couldn't understand why they would let this person even in the barracks. The cloaked man's body structure suited more toward farming or crafts, not fighters.

Klock chuckled to himself and said, "Trust me. He can definitely lift a sword." He snuck a glance at Omega and was surprised that he still stood there like he wasn't being insulted. And judging by his stance, he didn't really care.

The guard said, "Bah! Let's have a one on one battle then and see who wins. I'll even agree to listen to every word he says if he can beat me, but if he loses, then he has to be my servant and do everything I say." Klock was about to say that would not be a good idea since he knew the skill Omega possessed but Omega spoke first.

"I agree to your terms." Omega said with no emotion and walked in front of the group.

Once the other guards heard the young voice, they all burst out laughing. The guard that challenged Omega proclaimed, "I can't fight a boy! I'll slaughter him!" The guard was not going to be blamed for beating up a kid.

Klock was about to contradict him but, once again, Omega beat him to it. "You sound very cocky for someone who has never seen me fight. As you know, I'm not from this planet and no one here knows how much training I have had. Why don't you let your sword talk for you, soldier?" Omega said this in such a factual tone that made some of the soldiers doubt whether their friend would win or not.

The guard scoffed and said, "Big words coming from a skinny, little boy. I guess I should get this over with so I can get back to training." With that, the guard pulled out his longsword and charged Omega not giving Omega any time to pull out his swords, at least, that was what the guards thought.

When the guard got 5 feet from Omega and was about to swing his sword slicing Omega in half, Omega actually shot forward and to the side of the guard, sticking out his foot along the way. The guard had no time to jump over the foot and face planted on the ground.

The crowd was silent for a second before laughter burst out from amongst the ranks. The guard got up and glared at Omega who was just standing there watching the guard. Once the guards calmed down and saw Omega just standing there without any weapon or emotion showing, an eerie feeling swept through the whole building and sent shivers down the spines of the guards. They now looked at Omega with a little hint of fear with how he just stood there unmoving waiting for the next attack.

Once the guard came over his shock and fear, he charged again, this time prepared for a cheap attack. The guard swung down towards Omega who just jumped back, soon followed by the sword imbedding itself into the ground and jarring the life out of the guard. Before the guard could even pull the sword out of the ground, Omega jumped forward and punched the guard in the face so hard it created an audible sound of a jaw breaking making him stumble and fall.

Once again, Omega just stood there and now the guards had clear unease towards Omega. They now understood that they had no idea what kind of training the kid had and it was clearly far superior to theirs if he hadn't even troubled himself with a weapon.

The guard still sat on the ground holding his broken jaw trying to regain his composure and understand how one punch from that small kid could break his jaw.

Omega was ready to end this so he picked up the longsword like it was as light as a feather and walked over to the guard. He put the sword under the guard's neck and said, "Yield." The way Omega said it sounded more like a question than a demand which made the minds of the guards wonder what would happen if the guard didn't yield.

One of the more veteran guards could tell that the downed guard was stubborn and was about to refuse so he said, "Juhra, you have been beaten. Yield and let us learn what he has to teach us." While he was actually looking forward to learn from someone with this kid's skill, he said this more in worry of what would happen to Juhra if he didn't yield.

Juhra glared at Omega but knew he lost and said under his breath, "I yield." Omega pulled the sword from his neck and held out his hand. The gesture shocked everyone not expecting this cold demeanored guy to do a kind gesture.

After Juhra overcame his shock, he grasped Omega's hand and was surprised that Omega effortlessly lifted him up onto his feet. Juhra muttered a quick thanks and went back to the stunned guards.

Omega looked at the 100 present guards, not including the ones who came with him, and said, "I have been assigned by Jerough to be your trainer for my time here. I'm going to warn you now. This training will be nothing like what you are used to and if you think you're in shape now ..." Omega chuckled to himself to the slightly fearful crowd. "Then your view of 'in shape' is about to change." Omega couldn't wait to start training these soldiers and see how long they would last with just the warm ups.

However, he would have to wait for his fun tomorrow when he was the official trainer. Omega told the soldiers, "I recommend you get a nice, long sleep and be back here by sun ... what do you call the white moon?" Omega's age showed a little by him getting distracted so easily and some of the soldiers chuckled at the silly question when he was just being a drill sergeant.

Klock said, "We just call it the white and yellow moon." They never really needed to come up with a name since there are no other moons that would make them need to specify which moon was which.

Omega just laughed and said, "How original. So, where was I? OH! Be back here when the white moon rises. Not a second later or I get to have some fun and a good laugh." The guards didn't have to see the evil smile under the mask to know Omega had it.

The guards were about to disperse until Omega wanted to have a little more fun and bug the guards. "Soldiers!" The guards quickly situated themselves a little afraid of what Omega was about to tell them. They had no idea when they got scared from a kid but there was no denying that they were.

Omega continued, "Since I am going to be your trainer, I want a yes sir whenever you're given an order. Is that clear?" Omega was so going to enjoy this but was a little disappointed when he heard some halfhearted 'yes sirs.'

Omega smirked to himself and quickly pulled out his sword, stabbing it through a concrete part of the ground deeper than his small frame should be able to make it go. "Sorry but I don't think I was understood so I will make say this clearer. When I give an order, I want everybody to say yes sir." Omega started in sickly sweet tone. "AM I UNDERSTOOD?!"

All the guards quickly yelled "YES SIR!" much to the pleasure of Omega. The guards were really nervous about this kid and hoped to heavens he wasn't going to punish them somehow ... wait ... they were afraid of being punished by a kid. There was something wrong with this picture to the guards but they weren't going to voice their thoughts in fear of retribution.

Omega smiled and said in a commanding tone, "That's more like it! Now, you are dismissed and I will see you in the morning." With that, the guards high-tailed it out of there to get as far away from Omega as they could until morning.

The guards who brought Omega to the barracks were left visibly dumbstruck by him which made Omega chuckle. "You might want to close your mouths. You may catch some fluttering moths." They at least visibly regained themselves but still couldn't comprehend how someone could just walk in there and have the whole barracks listening to their orders like they had been their commander for many years.

Klock was the first to be able to speak and said, "Umm, well I guess I can take you to the sleeping quarters since the yellow moon is about to come up. Not to be rude but you'll probably have to sleep on the floor a couple of days until our craftsmen can create a bed for you." Klock didn't really want him sleeping on the floor but they really didn't have room elsewhere.

Omega just held up his hand and said, "No need. I have my tent I'll sleep in." Omega smirked at their confused expressions while they tried to find his tent.

One of the guards spoke up, "Uhh all you have is a backpack. Unless the tent is so small it can fit into your backpack then I don't see where you could store your tent." They were now a little curious because they knew he wasn't lying and wanted to know how to keep a tent in such a small area.

Omega just chuckled and said, "Remember, I said I was going to show you one of my magic items later today. So, you want to show me where the sleeping quarters are?" Omega stepped aside and held out his hand in a 'lead the way' gesture.

They walked for a couple of minutes until they got to a two story building that was a little smaller than the barracks. It had the same stone walls but had a window marking each room. Klock said, "Each room sleeps four soldiers and provides a chest by each bed and two study areas. It is pretty cramped but livable. We hope to build another someday soon but who knows." Klock just shrugged his shoulders while Omega got a fantastic idea on some training the soldiers could do.

"So," Klock stated. "Where is your magic tent?" The soldiers were a little excited to see magic because they rarely ever got to see it around the village since the mages only helped the earth and animals.

Omega just took of a strap of his backpack and slung it five feet in front of him. When it landed, it transformed into a small but nice size tent. Just to add some flare, Omega said, "Tadaa!" The soldiers had a look of awe on their faces and tried to process how that was possible but knew you couldn't explain magic.

Klock said, "Wow. That is really cool. Does the stuff you put in your backpack stay in there?" It would really suck if you lost whatever you put in your backpack when it transformed into a tent.

Omega laughed and said, "Whatever you put in your backpack can be found in the tent form too. The same in reverse. If I put something in the tent and shrink it into a backpack, you will find it in the backpack too." This backpack was definitely one of his items and it was extremely nice to always have some type of shelter to sleep under.

Klock said still in amazement, "Well that's really cool. So I guess we will see you in the morning?"

Omega gave him a thumbs up and said, "See you then!" Omega ducked into his tent and laid down. After closing the tent and making sure no one could smell anything through it, he summoned a home cooked meal and slept with a full stomach.

~~~Time Skip~~~

Omega woke up two hours before the yellow moon set and walked over to the empty barracks. He memorized the layout and got to work improving the barracks. He started with the weapons and froze the water in the air to sharpen all the weapons at once. He did this by rapidly spinning the ice and placing the edges of the weapons against the ice, quickly sharpening all of them in ten minutes. The ice also cleaned the weapons since Omega kept a small layer of water on the edge to wash off all the grim.

After he was satisfied with his work, he walked over to the archery range. The surface had such an uneven surface with the inaccurate archers shooting at them. The wood was about 5 feet thick so Omega hardened a long line of water and cut off about half a foot of the wood all the way across to create a smooth surface. He found the paint in a small closet and created an actual target with rings all the way across the pieces of wood. After he was done, he burned the excess wood that he sliced off leaving nothing, not even ashes, behind.

He also used the water to sweep out all the dust and dirt off the ground and shelves. All this took about thirty minutes so he decided to get a little training of his own done before the soldiers came. He warmed up with sprints, push-ups, bench pressed with ice weights, and of course stretched before all that.

He took out his swords and practiced a few complex sets that each had about 50 steps in them and if one step was missed, the rest would be off. Omega was lost in his own world for the rest of the hour and didn't even notice a crowd start to form.

Right when the soldiers walked in and saw Omega dancing with his blades, they were awestruck at the fluidity of his moves while also adding strength to slice off whatever the blade connected with.

Klock was the last one to get inside since he picked up a few stragglers and just like the other soldiers, he watched speechless as Omega practiced. After a minute of soaking up everything he possibly could, he walked forward and cleared his throat.

Omega instantly stopped mid-swing which surprised a lot of the guards at how sudden he could just stop whatever he was doing. Omega looked at the now filled barracks and said, "Oh, sorry guys. I was lost in my own little world." Omega smiled sheepishly under his mask but turned serious again which caught some of the guards off guard.

"Alright soldiers! Today we will start by doing exercises today so I can assess your physical capabilities. I can't wait to see what you got!" Omega was looking forward to pushing these guys' limits and was filled with excitement.

While the guards wanted to join in Omega's little world to learn how to do ... that, they knew they were in for a load of trouble by the clearly happy Omega. Omega yelled out to the soldiers, "Don your armor and meet back here in five minutes sharp! Trust me, you don't want to be late." Omega said that last part a little too giddily for the soldiers' liking and they sprinted over to get their armor.

Everyone made it back in just under five minutes with some of them already winded. Omega just shook his head and thought, 'We have a long way to go.'

~~~ Almost 10 months later ~~~

Over the past months, villagers saw their guards doing laps around the village, building new buildings including a new sleeping area, helping out with crafts, farming, and pretty much anything and everything else Omega thought of doing. Omega's orders were only questioned once and let's just say the aura Omega put off shut the guy up and he did exactly what Omega ordered.

The people of the village had never been happier. With the soldiers helping in every work area, the people were able to get a lot of work done in their trade that they wouldn't have been able to do without the soldiers.

Village life had also improved other than the soldiers helping out. During the cold nights, the fire felt warmer than it usually did and the wood burned longer, the water tasted much better and less people got sick, and the crops were a little healthier which the magic people said the ground somehow gained more water and the air was warmer around the plants during the cold nights. These miracles just started to show up after Omega came to town and many people started to make the connection after their surprise died down.

Omega had also become the friend of almost all the villagers. He knew everybody's name and treated them equally unlike other outsiders who saw some better than others. Other than training the soldiers, Omega would often help others with their jobs or take care of and play with the kids.

After a couple of weeks of living there, Omega took off his cloak and people finally got to see his body which made some of the ladies swoon because of his tight clothing leaving nothing to imagination. Even some of the guys gave him a second look.

One of their year round celebrations happened on Omega's fifth month and Omega couldn't wait to see how they celebrated. However, when he heard that there was just going to be a big feast and nothing else, Omega decided he wanted to take action and create a much better event with the best food he could summon, of course, without them knowing he could summon food.

One of the reasons the people only had a feast and went straight home was because the month was known to be one of the coldest. So, Omega gathered a whole bunch of stone and put a large circle in the middle of the courtyard to the confusion of the people. However, they had come to trust Omega so they just put it to him helping them somehow.

He next went to the two mages and asked if they could focus more on the trees for the next week so they could have plenty of firewood. They agreed since they were able to finally get some rest with the plants getting healthier on their own.

The people watched as Omega started stacking wood in a weird pattern that was very wide and very tall with a good bit of space between each log. The scholars of the village couldn't make sense as to why Omega would stack the wood that way. Once the base burned away, it would all topple over and spray fire to the surrounding areas. However, like the people, they trusted Omega and let him continue his work.

On the day of the celebration, he helped the cooks gather the ingredients and then went back to training the soldiers. When Omega was done he visited the kitchens and was a little disappointed with the finished products. So, he waited until all the cooks left the kitchen before he made his way into the kitchen without anyone noticing.

He instantly burned all the meals that were prepared and summoned replicas of the meals but with a lot more flavor and captivating smell. He quickly left the kitchen because the smell was sure to catch people's attention.

During the next hour, the smell of the food permeated the air making everyone's mouth water in anticipation. They had never smelled something so good and knew they were about to find out what something that smelled so good tasted like.

The cooks were dumbfounded when they came back to the kitchen to see the prepared plates filled with the most delectable foods they had ever seen. For a second, they were confused and a little suspicious of the food but quickly got over it remembering all the good things that had been happening to the village and put it down as that.

No one sat still in the courtyard in anticipation of the food to come. The cooks and other villagers soon walked out of the kitchen with the most amazing dishes the people had ever seen. When the last dish was set, everyone dug in and moans of bliss could be heard from the people.

Their taste buds were in overload with the flavor and one guy even passed out in a food bliss coma much to the amusement of the people. Hearty laughter and lively talk could be heard all around and everyone enjoyed their meals for the next two hours.

Klock looked towards Omega and while Omega was enjoying the food, it looked like he had it all the time which raised some suspicion. However, Klock knew not to push Omega in fear of him never doing this again. It was worth not knowing to have the experience again.

After the people were done eating, they started to make their way over to the stone circle with a weird wood structure knowing that was where Omega wanted them to go.

After everyone was situated and a cold breeze started to blow through, Omega stepped in front of the crowd who circled around the large campfire. "Hello my fellow friends!" Omega's voice bellowed out so the people in the back could hear him clearly. "Today I wanted to add something a little special to the celebration. I have a music box today and I built this campfire so we can party and dance all night long! I hope you enjoy it."

With that, Omega turned around to the campfire and lit a match. The fire instantly started licking its way up the structure until the fire was so big that the people had to even take a few steps back so they wouldn't be burned by the heat. The heat from the fire surprisingly reached all the way to the back row and everyone waited in anticipation to hear music.

There was very, very little technology which they only got from the stranded people. So, to have an intact music box with speakers was a dream come true. Omega placed the box by the fire and started playing songs he got from across the universe. Of course, no one really understood the words but everyone could dance to the tune of the song and had a great time.

The people and scholars were in such a blissful state that they didn't even think about how the structure never fell down or how the heat permeated through the air all the way to the back row when it should barely reach halfway. Omega knew he was risking revealing how powerful he really was but he wanted his new friends to have the best time of their lives before he left.

Since that day, every once in a while their food would sometimes be like the feast at the celebration but it wasn't often which made the people really savor the experience.

The soldiers' skills increased exponentially under Omega's training. Everyone's business improved with increased demands. Crops grew bigger and healthier. All in all, it was the best year they ever had.

Omega was looked up to by all the people. He had helped the village so much and brought life back to the people. Even though he never took off his mask, which still raised some suspicion, they knew he had a good, strong heart and would trust him with their lives.

Omega's fun-loving, carefree attitude finally breached the surface after a couple months. Whenever he thought about the betrayal, he would always think about his new friends and his life in the village. He still kept quiet about his powers but he could tell the people were starting to make connections. However, he was still going to leave in two weeks since the year was almost over.

Everybody was enjoying some scrumptious food at lunch time when a guard on horseback barreled into town. He quickly jumped off panting and looked like he'd been through hell. Omega and the soldiers quickly made their way to him and asked what happened.

"The guards ... at the gates ... opened them thinking ... that was he was stranded ... but it was the ... dusk shade." He said between deep breaths. He calmed himself a little and said, "About 300 monsters and the dusk shade got in before we were able to close the gates. The army is making its way here now!"

Right when he finished, everyone heard shrieks and saw them coming towards them at amazing speeds. It would be about five minutes before they got to the village. Luckily, part of Omega's training required all guards to always have their armor on with their weapons so they ran to the front of the village to prevent them from coming into the town.

It would be the first time for all the guards to actually fight face to face with the monsters. It was especially easy shooting them from the wall since the monsters couldn't fight back. However, now there was nothing between them and the monsters except their weapons.

Some of the leaders of the village started evacuating the people but most knew they would die if the guards couldn't stop them. So, they just waited behind their guards, out of harm's way but in sight, hoping for the best.

Their biggest hope was Omega. They knew he was a skilled warrior who took down 30 shadow clan warriors by himself. However, now there was 300 of monsters and only 30 guards backing him up.

Omega knew he wouldn't die since he could easily mist travel out if the going got tough. However, he couldn't leave the people who had wormed their way into his heart. He knew he would have to reveal his powers to be able to save everybody because one guard could only take out a max of five monsters unless they got lucky. It wasn't because they weren't skilled, but they had no experience which made a big difference on the battlefield.

When the monsters were a minute away, he assessed their numbers. They had around 200 land troops and 100 flying monsters. Luckily, they didn't have any Carnic birds because they could have posed a serious problem. These flying creatures were bulky and the size of two men which made easy targets for archers.

Omega turned around to the frightened guards and gave a pep talk. "Guards! Today you fight to preserve your village, friends, and family. Think about your loved ones and the reason you fight. Do not despair! We can win this! I have led two wars and won each one. Trust me when I say we can win this. No matter how crazy my orders sound, I need you to follow them without question if we're going to win this! Are you ready to drive these bastard monsters out of our town and prove your worth as guards?!" Omega yelled to the now riled up guards and the surprised citizens.

Both the guards and citizens were shocked to find out he had led not one, but two wars. They always trusted him and knew that if they were going to survive this they needed to listen to everything Omega said.

When the monsters were thirty seconds away, Omega started barking out orders. "Alright! I need the 20 best archers to get behind the rest of you. 15 of them will focus on the aerial monsters while the other 5 will try to help the soldiers on the ground. Soldiers will start with spears to keep them at bay for as long as they can before switching to swords!"

They stared at Omega wondering how 10 guards were going to go up against the 200 land troops. However, Omega saw the moment of hesitation and yelled, "Trust me! If we're going to win this you have to do what I say. I haven't been completely honest with who I am but you are about to see my full potential. Now! Twenty archers in the back!"

That quickly got the archers moving and the spears drawn. They all got into position and the monsters were almost on top of them. Omega was counting the seconds in his head to know when to attack. 10 ... 9 ... 8 ... 7 ... 6 ... 5 ... 4 ... 3 ... 2 ... 1.

Right when they were about to collide, Omega raised his foot and slammed it on the ground, creating a tremor through the enemy ranks making them all stumble and killing the first row with the spears.

Both monsters and the guards were surprised at first and stood still for a second trying to comprehend what just happened. However, Omega didn't wait for them to regain their senses and pulled out his swords yelling, "ATTACK!"

Archers started shooting the flying monster who were a little behind the land troops while the close range guards killed a few more with their spears before switching to swords. Omega was already hacking and slashing the monsters to bits, getting sprayed with blood and gore without a care in the world. He would show no mercy to anything that tried to harm his friends.

60 monsters were killed before they lost the first guard to a jagged sword in the stomach. By the time 150 monster were killed, six close range soldiers and ten archers had died. Luckily, both land and air units focused on the soldiers instead of going to kill the villagers because that would have caused an even bigger mess.

Omega was grateful that the dusk shade just stood in the back watching his monsters be decimated. Omega and the guards were perfectly fine with not having to deal with that beast until the end without having to focus on his minions at the same time. When all the monsters were killed, 3 close range swordsmen and 7 archers were all that was left.

Omega killed about 160 of them and stood protectively in front of the guards facing the dusk shade. Now that Omega could get a good look at it, it looked like an evil, dark being made up of solid black with a sinister smile stretching across its face. Its body structure looked like a bird turned human. It had sharp claws on its hands and feet and had black, feather like substance sticking out of its head, shoulders, arms, knees, and tail. All in all, it looked ... evil.

It stood there with that weird smile and started to transform. When it was done, the monster looked about the same just with mantis like arms and a slim body that Omega could tell was built for speed. The arms looked as sharp as swords and it still had claws on its feet.

Omega heard gasps go through the guards and asked what it was. One guard spoke up, "It is a Kithon. They are known for their speed and skill with its blade hands. It is known to be unbeatable and the most deadly monster on this planet."

The dusk shade's grin grew and walked up to Omega, stopping five feet in front of him. Omega was surprised by the shade. It was waiting for him to get ready. Even though the monster may be evil, it still had honor. And if it would have honor, then Omega would too.

Omega stood up straight and did a slight bow, to the shock of the crowd, and got into a ready stance. Right when Omega got ready, the shade charged and the sound of swords clashing could be heard for miles with the strength they put behind the weapons.

Both were a blur of motion and the people watched in awe at the skill Omega possessed. They never knew he was this good to be able to compete with the dusk shade. Some of the archers got out of their shock and were about to fire but the two separated and Omega yelled, "Stop!"

The dusk shade waited for Omega to continue the fight. Omega said to the surprise of the crowd, "This is a fight between the dusk shade and I. No one will interfere no matter what happens." Omega turned back to the dusk shade and gave a nod.

They instantly started battling again while the people watched on wishing they could help but knew not to interfere. They had to have hope that Omega would win. After a solid five minutes of fighting, one of Omega's swords flew out of the blur of motion and sunk into the ground.

The crowd gasped with the sudden change and Omega was on pure defense. Omega definitely was the better swordsman but whenever he made a cut or jab at the shade, it would just heal back like nothing happened. The whole time, Omega tried to find out a way to injure him but just couldn't think of anything. He was caught off guard on one moment which allowed the dusk shade to knock one of Omega's swords out of his hand.

Omega fought for another minute before his other sword was knocked away and the fighting stopped. The dusk shade smiled victoriously at Omega and Omega knew that he either needed to think of something fast or he was a dead man.

One of the guards yelled, "Use one of the swords on your back!" ... ... ...

Omega mentally face palmed at how he forgot he had swords on his back. Never using them tended to make you forget about them. However, that brought up an excellent idea that may save him.

Omega raised his left hand and hovered it over the sword. This would be his first time fighting with it and he was actually looking forward to it. He melted off the ice and unsheathed the radiant yellow sword.

The light the sword gave off made everyone squint their eyes unaccustomed to the brightness. After getting over their shock, they stared in awe at the glowing sword and how warm the aura the sword gave off made them feel. The dusk shade could also feel the aura and knew instantly it would lose.

However, it was going to fight to death so it charged Omega with everything it had. It raised its two scythe like arms above his head trying to put enough force to knock the weapon out of his hands. However, Omega was prepared and held strong when its arms came down.

There was a flash of light that blinded everyone except the wielder. Omega quickly went into action deciding to marvel at the sword after the battle. He did a quick but deep slice on the dusk shade's chest creating a yellowish, white line that spread across its entire chest. The bright aura spread from the cut, stayed there for a couple of seconds, then faded back to pitch black.

Omega knew what he had to do. He waited for the shade to regain its composure then charged. He dealt quick and deadly strikes that the shade was barely able to block or dodge. After just a few seconds, Omega was able to knock its arms away and leave its body completely open to attack.

Omega sliced through his chest many times in such a short amount of time that you could barely even see a blur. Once its chest was completely white, Omega quickly jumped to the side and kept slashing with unknown speeds.

In about five seconds the entire dusk shade except its head was completely white. It fell down with a thud and Omega put his sword above his head, ready to end its life with a quick downward motion. It still had its evil smile that was probably permanently plastered on its face. However, its black, soulless eyes betrayed him. It showed fear but also acceptance.

The people were silent in awe at Omega's skill. He defeated the legendary dusk shade by himself! The people thought they were dreaming that they could finally not have to worry about the dusk shade anymore.

Omega stood above the dusk shade contemplating on what he wanted to do. He could easily kill the dusk shade with one stab but didn't really want to kill an honorable foe even if he was evil. He couldn't let him go because he would just attack the village again but he really didn't want to kill him. The dusk shade fought honorably and anybody, or anything, that fights honorably doesn't deserve to die.

Omega was knocked out of his thoughts when the dusk shade spoke into his mind with a hissing, snake-like voice. _"You have bested me. You are a mighty warrior and killing me is an impressive feat that will gain you much glory. If only you had darkness in you I would gladly serve under you and give you my life. However, I will not serve under a being of light."_

Omega pouted and wished he was a dark being because an ally like the dusk shade would be extremely cool and a great help when he needed him. Another idea hit him. Omega spoke to the dusk shade, "If I could prove I am part dark, would you serve under me and come to my aid whenever I call upon you. And while you are here waiting for me, you cannot attack the village or orchestra an attack against them."

The dusk shade was silent for a moment contemplating whether this person could have darkness in him. It looked into his eyes and say every emotion known to mankind, including anger. He also recalled his aggressive and relentless attacks and knew a being of light wouldn't be able to do that. _"If you could prove you have a dark side, then I will forever serve you without question for as long as you live and agree to your terms."_ It really wanted to see how he proved he wasn't fully light.

The people watched in stunned silence as Omega put up the light sword without killing the dusk shade. They watched the clear coating go back over the sword and felt the comforting aura disappear. They were confused as to why he wouldn't kill the dusk shade and contemplated what would happen if the dusk shade gained influence over him.

Omega lifted his right hand over his other sword and the people held their breaths as to what was about to happen. Right when Omega melted the ice and unsheathed the sword, the temperature plummeted and the surrounding area got darker than it had ever been making it where the people could barely see. The only source of light was the still shining dusk shade.

The dusk shade looked on in awe at the sword and reveled in the cold, dark feeling the sword emitted. Just knowing that he could wield such a sword told the shade that he was not just a light being. _"I see you are not purely light. I will serve you and obey every command given to me as long as it's not helping children or something to that nature."_ It added that last part to make sure Omega knew it wasn't going to do any charitable deeds.

Omega chuckled at that and said, "Welcome to the club, my friend. I'm glad to have gained an ally as strong as you." With that he slammed the dark sword into the dusk shade. The people thought Omega had finally killed it but was shocked with what happened next.

The dusk shade felt immense power flow through it and the light effects of the other sword quickly faded away. It was once again pure darkness and it never felt this good before. It stood up after Omega pulled the sword out and bowed to Omega. _"If you ever need me while you are on the planet, just call me from the shadows and I will come."_

Omega said, "I plan on leaving this planet soon so I will take you on your word that you will not harm these villagers in any way while they are inside these walls and you will come to my aid whenever I call you." Omega still didn't really trust the shade but he wasn't going to stay on this planet to watch over the village. He trained the soldiers and taught them well enough to pass on their knowledge to the next generation.

The shade spoke, "I am unable to lie so I can't go against anything I say. But there is a problem, I can't shadow travel onto another planet unless there was a window of pure darkness while also calling me."

Omega thought about that for a second but said, "Let me worry about that. Be ready though if you hear me call." The dusk shade simply nodded its head and Omega sheathed the dark blade coating it with ice.

The people were relieved that the sword was put away but fear replaced that relief when they saw the standing dusk shade.

The dusk shade said, _"What is your command, master?"_ Omega thought about it for a second but he really didn't need it for anything. "Nothing right now. You may leave the village and stay away from the villagers unless ordered otherwise by me. Goodbye, my friend. I hope to see you another day." The dusk shade said, _"As you wish master"_ and bowed his head before walking off back towards the gate.

The people were surprised to see the dusk shade bow to Omega and just walk off towards the gate. It was silent for a moment before Omega turned around to the crowd and said, "Well that was interesting."

One of the guards came up and yelled, "Why didn't you kill the dusk shade!? You know it will come back later on and attack again!" The people agreed with the guard and glared at Omega. They were happy that he defeated the dusk shade for them but he basically just postponed their death until Omega lost his fighting ability because of his age.

Omega was about to explain before Klock stepped forward from one of the surviving guards. "Omega, I trust you to have done this for a good reason. Please say you know what you just did." Klock pleaded with Omega trying to make him understand the severity of his actions. However, Klock wholeheartedly believed Omega would never just release the dusk shade without a reason.

Omega smiled at Klock and was glad to have someone who trusted him even if the circumstance pointed otherwise. "You are correct Klock. I released the dusk shade with a promise from it to never harm the village in any way or orchestra any attack on the village. He can't lie so I know he will never harm you again. So, do not fear the dusk shade anymore unless you venture outside the walls. But don't go as far as to say he is neutral being. He will never be friendly towards you but he can do no harm to you while inside the walls."

The people were surprised that Omega would release of being of pure darkness but they felt a little guilty for not trusting Omega. The other guards came forward and bowed their heads in respect and one of them said, "We are sorry for ever doubting you Omega. We thank you for saving our village and preventing the dusk shade from ever attacking us. We are glad to have you with us."

Omega smiled sadly at his friends and said in a happy but solemn tone, "I am glad to have friends like you guys and I couldn't ask for anything better. Thank you for believing in me." Klock stepped forward and asked, "Why does it sound like you are saying goodbye?" The people quickly looked at Omega in shock wondering why he would chose to wander around the desolate place instead of staying with them.

Omega still had the sad smile, "I never stay in one place for too long. It is my time to move on. I enjoyed my time here and wouldn't ask to spend it anywhere else. I have taught you plenty to pass on to the next generation and the generation after it. So, yes, this a goodbye. I'm not saying we'll never see each other again because you never know what will happen in time."

Omega looked over the shocked and sad crowd wishing he could stay and seriously debated staying. The only thing keeping him from staying was his promise to his father to protect the universe and the people within. He had saved these people from their biggest threat and would leave them with the skills to protect themselves.

Omega bowed to the crowd and started walking towards the gate. He didn't want to just mist travel out showing he could have left whenever he wanted to and could have possibly taken them with him. He wanted to leave with the people still thankful for his help so he walked all the way outside the gates into the dark terrain.

He looked back towards the now small blotch of light that signified the village. He would definitely miss the place but Omega looked forward to other planets he could help and make new friends along the way.

With that, he mist traveled back to his home, Vinesta, to have a couple of days rest before going on to his next adventure. He had some interesting experiences on the planet and he definitely learned a few things. He also got another amazing ally. Having a phoenix and the dusk shade who would do anything to protect him was an impressive accomplishment. However, unlike others, he would never boast about it and would prefer it to stay unknown for one heck of a surprise later on in a fight. And he also didn't want his daughter anywhere near a fight anyway.

He sighed after traveling to his home remembering the fun times he had with Sylvia and wished he could see her again, but he didn't want to take her away from her travels and be a clingy dad. He would just have to occupy himself with another mission. Ohhhh, the fun life of Omega. (read AN before asking questions)

Another update! Hope you guys liked the end to this adventure.

I have been getting a lot of repeated questions so here are some basic facts. For those who are wondering when he will meet Chaos and such, it will most likely be two chapters away. Omega has one more adventure to go on before finally being found.

Also, Omega will go back to Earth. It will just be a while since I want to go through his time in the army too.

Additionally, Omega will date an OC (Original Character) later in the story. He's not the kind of person to be a loner forever.

Annnddd I think that is it. Thanks for stickin with the story and I will see you guys next chapter!

Word Count

Chapter/Whole Story

9600/111000


	23. Grow Means Grow, Right?

I need your opinion on something. So the first quarter of this chapter is a mix between two perspectives. I want to know if you think that is okay or would you prefer it if I just put it in Omega's viewpoint. I honestly wouldn't mind keeping it or changing it. I'll leave it to my fellow readers to decide. The section I'm talking about ends at 'Omega let that sink in.' Anyway, hope you like the chapter!

Omega once again found himself before his map which was starting to fade along the edges. This of course made him reminisce about when he first started his journey. All the memories and experiences he gained throughout his adventures made him smile. Coming out of his revere and spinning himself to death, he stumbled his way over to the map and saw that the dart landed next to the planet, Jython. Once again Omega had never heard of the planet so he shrugged and gathered the needed supplies. This included money, weapons, first aid kit (knowing Omega), and other small supplies. After packing everything in his bag, he started mist traveling his way over to Jython.

Jython was luckily only a two day trip so he got there quicker than usual giving him almost an exact year on the planet. However, Omega pretty much counted 363 days as a year. Who wouldn't! Well ... maybe children of Athena but Omega didn't care much for them since one of them tore his heart in half. He quickly shook himself out of that thought before his peace of mind left him.

He finally finished the seemingly long two day journey and looked upon a forest where he landed. The trees reminded him of a mix between a pine tree and an oak tree. The trunk itself had bark like a pine tree and was extremely tall. However, the branches on the tree were like an oak's with many branches shooting off each other. The tree had a mixture of leaves from both the trees with a cluster of oak leaves and two pine needles sticking out.

It was early morning judging by the sun and Omega was amazed at the beauty of the forest. The sun's light rays shown through the leaves making the air shimmer in the morning weather. Early morning chirps could be heard throughout the forest along with scuffling on the ground caused by animals hidden in the underbrush. Wind rustling the leaves made a whistling sound flow through the forests which mixed well with the birds' chirps. Omega could feel a creek flowing through the woods off to the right giving him a calming effect of being near a water source.

Omega decided to start his journey after the peaceful moment went away, so he quietly crouched down into a meditating position and sat quietly in a restful state. He sat there for a couple hours in a trance like state finding peace within himself. However, he was knocked out of his thoughts when he heard silent footsteps about 100 yards away. He focused his senses on the area and could tell it was coming his way but not directly at him, probably just walking through the forest.

Omega hardened some vapor around the area and could tell it was a young girl frolicking through the forest with a basket filled, Omega guessed, with flowers judging by the outlines. Omega could tell with the way she moved that she had no clear destination in mind so he decided to let fate decide if they would meet.

Omega watched her come closer and closer stopping to pick some flowers then jumping back up to walk to the next patch. She was only ten feet away from Omega picking yellow and red flowers completely oblivious to him. Now in sight, she had silky blond hair flowing slightly over her shoulders and looked like a 10 year old girl. She had a flawless face with sharp features and a slightly pale complexion. Her slightly extended ears had a point and her voice filled all ears with the most pleasant sound Omega had ever heard. She was singing a song in a tongue Omega didn't know and he watched at how the nature around her responded to her voice. The grass grew greener and healthier swaying in joy, moving in rhythm with her voice. The trees responded and sang their own song with their limbs and leaves. The flowers bloomed to their fullest potential and glowed with an ethereal beauty.

Omega still sat there as still as a stone just watching this elfish girl now only seven feet away with all her focus on picking flowers. Now six feet making her way closer. Five feet ... four ... three. She paused noticing something was in her way, slowly raising her head to meet Omega's eyes.

Omega watched her as she slowly raised her head fearfully taking in Omega. When she made contact with his eyes she let loose a gasp. The sea green eyes with orange specks drew her in, captivating her, making her unable to move. She stared for about three seconds then quickly realized that this cloaked stranger was armed and could easily kill her if she wasn't prepared.

She quickly jumped up and pulled out a dagger strapped to her side and got into a ready position. Now a farther distance away with no response from the man, she looked over the mysterious stranger with a critical eye. She couldn't see him breathing because of the cloak around him so wondered if he was even alive. However, she quickly dismissed that remembering the life that she saw in his eyes.

Omega watched as she slowly took stock of the situation. He could tell he was making her nervous by not moving and inwardly chuckled.

She loosened her fighting stance and stared confused at him. He still hadn't moved to defend himself which could mean a many things. He could have enough skill to take her down without trying, could actually want death, or was just plain old sitting there without a care in the world.

She tentatively asked in her own language, "Wh ... Who are you?" She cursed herself for showing her fear in her voice. She was always taught to act brave even if you're not because enemies will capitalize on your fear making it a much easier battle for them.

Seeing no response from him, she assumed that he didn't speak her language since only the elves on this planet spoke it. Using the galactic language, English, she re-asked her question with a little less fear in her voice.

Omega closed his eyes and took a deep breath before letting it out. "This forest is a very peaceful place when there is nothing to break the calmness. You can keep singing if you want. It added to the serenity to the forest and I also liked listening to such a beautiful voice. Don't worry, you have nothing to fear from me." Omega didn't really expect her to believe him but he still wanted to listen to the nature around him some more before setting out.

The girl lowered her weapon but still kept it out in case he suddenly made a move. She felt like he was telling the truth about enjoying the peacefulness of the forest and like her too, she didn't like disturbing the peace. She watched him still sitting there as still as a stone quite impressed that someone can sit so still and wondered how sharp his senses were. She couldn't tell what race he was with his cloak and mask on but he could possibly be an elf like her.

She didn't know what overcame her, which she put down as her young, daring side, but she walked up next to the mysterious figure and plopped down next to him. She did her best to copy his position making a few corrections until it was near perfect. After fixing herself, she took a deep breath and let it out closing her eyes. She stretched out her senses letting the forest go back to its peaceful state.

Slowly but surely, she could start to hear animals scurry from hiding place to hiding place, wind creating a tune blowing through the leaves, and a gurgling stream some distance off with a few splashes from the fish within. She let a small smile appear on her face at the serenity of the forest. She started humming to the tune of the forest and the tune grew louder encouraging her to also go louder. She started to quietly continue her song and grew louder as time passed.

In just a minute, the forest was back to its peaceful nature before her surprised outburst. She couldn't hear the mysterious person but she could slightly smell him even though she could tell that cloak blocked off most of his scent. Luckily, elves had pretty good senses. She could smell a mix between an ocean breeze and nice fire smell that reminded her of the family fires in her home.

Just his smell was enough to take away most of her wariness but not quite all. She still didn't know anything about him or what his intentions were. Jython had very few visitors from outside the planet since they shunned pretty much everyone and attacked outright with the slightest reason. The elves on this planet were known for their skills in all attributes. They were the best craftsmen, blacksmith, weavers, and especially fighters. They denied any trade request since they could make the item better than they could buy it which didn't give others many reasons to visit. So, she wondered who this mysterious person was.

Omega was surprised to sense the young girl walk over and copy his meditating position. He cracked open an eye to see her sitting there copying him and had a content face. He closed his eye with a small smile and waited for the forest to regain its beauty. He was pleased when she started singing again and a content smile found its way on Omega's face too. After thirty minutes, she quit singing but still sat there.

She didn't know what to do. She didn't know if she could just leave or would he do something to prevent her. Yes, he hadn't hurt her yet but she still didn't know his intentions. She turned her head to study this person closer but the only thing she could tell was that he hadn't moved ever since she saw him.

She asked again, "Who are you?" This time, she asked with more curiosity than fear. Omega smiled at her now calm voice and pleased to hear that she wasn't afraid of him anymore. Omega responded saying, "And what is your name, young one?"

She was shocked to hear a young voice that couldn't belong to someone in adulthood and sat there in silence until his question registered with her. She frowned and responded, "I asked you first."

Omega smiled and said, "I will tell you my name if you agree to tell me yours and sing me a song."

She was yet again caught off guard but this time at the strange request. She wasn't the best of singers in her village, mainly because she was still a child and her voice hadn't matured yet. However, she really wanted to know his name so she said, "Sure, but you go first." She was going to make sure he said his name before he got what he wanted.

Omega chuckled a little bit and said, "Omega." He watched her mull over his name and she said, "What are you doing here, Omega?" Omega turned his head to look at her making her jump a little with his sudden activity compared to his inactivity. He chuckled before he said, "Our first deal has not been completed yet."

She totally forgot about her part of the deal with all the questions buzzing threw her head. She smiled sheepishly and said, "My name is Layla." Omega smiled at the name and said, "That is a beautiful name." This, of course, made her blush a little at the complement.

She continued, "Umm, I know you asked me to sing but the others at the village can sing a lot better than me and you can listen to them at the campfire coming up. It would be a lot more enjoyable." She smiled sadly that she couldn't sing as good as the others since elves were known to have the most beautiful voices.

Omega just shook his head and said, "I want to hear you sing." Layla looked at Omega with at first shock then confusion. How could someone want to listen to someone who couldn't sing as beautiful as others?

Omega could tell Layla was having an inner battle so he said, "I want to hear you sing. You may not be able to sing as well as others but that does not matter to me. I want you to sing because I like listening to your voice. I already know I will prefer your voice over the others because it is you singing it." Omega chuckled at her still confused expression and just sat, waiting for her decision.

Layla couldn't understand how he would chose to listen to a voice not as good as others. Even though she couldn't understand it, she smiled that someone would like to listen to her voice when they were told they could listen to better somewhere else. It stirred something inside her that she hadn't felt in a while. However, she couldn't place it.

She could tell he wasn't going to speak until she sang so she got back into her meditating state and let the calm of the forest wash back over her. After a few minutes of getting in tune with nature, she started to lightly sing. Once again, as the forest's tune grew louder, so did Layla.

Omega listened to her sing with a smile on his face. One thing he did notice was that her voice changed. While Layla was picking flowers, she had a sweet, calm voice that was softly sung with nature. However, this time was different. This time, her voice had pure joy mixed with the calmness of the forest that enhanced her voice. Omega knew he could listen to her voice all day and made it his goal to make her have as much joy as she could contain during his stay on the planet.

He was surprised to see that the forest actually started to not only grow greener and healthier, but also grow in general. Omega saw a small tree sapling grow a couple of inches and some of the flowers gain extra blooms.

The song lasted for about 7 minutes with Omega enjoying every second of it. He was a little disappointed when it ended but he guessed you couldn't sing forever. They sat there quietly listening as the forest calmed down again after her voice left.

She was the first to break the silence with her childish curiosity. "So, what are you doing here Omega?" She was semi-expecting him to make her do a deal, however, he just answered the question. "I visit different planets every year and stay on them for the entire year. It has become a hobby of mine and has taught me many things. So, this year, Jython was the planet my random dart throw landed on. I actually just got here a few hours before you found me." Omega was still in a dreamlike state because of her song so he didn't even think about making a deal.

Omega let that sink in and was about to ask his question before she shot up. If Omega had never had his many years of training and surprises under his belt, then he probably would have been startled with the sudden movement. However, that was nothing compared to even the smallest of surprises.

She said something in her own tongue that sounded like a curse before she turned to Omega, "Sorry but I have to go! I was supposed to be home an hour ago. See you later Omega!" She quickly ran off through the forest back to her village. She stopped before she disappeared and yelled back, "Please be careful! The other elves in the forest and village don't take kindly to visitors trespassing on their land!" With that, she disappeared into the forest.

Omega hardened the vapor to watch her running away and decided to follow her to her village. He wasn't necessarily going to stalk her but he did need to find a village if he was going to figure out what to do on this planet. Also, he was curious as to what the other people of the race could do.

He quickly got up and stealthily followed her through the forest. He hardened the vapor around the area to make sure there were no traps or guards that would give him away but didn't find any. They both ran through the woods at about 17 miles an hour for 10 minutes which even slightly tired Omega. Omega now knew not to challenge an elf in a race.

Once Omega sensed the village approaching, he started traveling through the trees as to not be seen. Once he got to the edge, he looked upon the village and gasped in surprise. The houses were literally trees with houses in them. The trees were about 50 feet from end to end and grew to different heights ranging from 20 feet to 50 feet.

Omega watched as she ran to one of the 3 story tree houses and ran inside. Omega was curious as to what kind of punishment she'd get for being late. Hopefully it wouldn't be too bad or Omega might have to trap himself so he wouldn't barge on in there and teach them a lesson. However, he wanted to make a good first impression which might be extremely important looking back at what Layla said.

After she closed the door, Omega hardened water vapor inside the tree and saw Layla, about 10 other kids, and two women. He would bet the women inside would be beautiful judging by their body structure. The children's body ages looked to be around 10-15 but who knows how old they really were.

He watched as she walked in while the other kids were eating lunch and they all stopped when she walked in. She quickly walked over to the end of the table and tried to sit down. However, one of the women jumped in front of her and blocked her path. Layla lowered her head and it looked like she was getting scolded by the woman. Omega was perfectly fine with this punishment.

However, as quick as lighting, the woman raised her hand and slapped Layla across the face knocking her over. Omega, for a second, was so surprised that he stood there in silence. Next, all he saw was red, he could feel his body slowly start to turn into mist but quickly controlled himself. He could tolerate a slap and could talk to her about it later if need be. As long as they don't really injure her.

Layla slowly got up and sat on the table and the rest of the kids started talking like it was a regular occurrence for someone to get slapped which did not make Omega feel any better. Corporal punishment must have been still in session with these elves. After lunch, he watched as Layla got another stern talking to by the other woman but luckily, for Omega, Layla, or the woman, Omega didn't know, Layla was able to leave without physical punishment.

He watched Layla walk out and go over to a small little area that no one was at. As she walked through the village, nobody waved to her and some looked even looked at her in disgust. Omega was curious as to what such a sweet little child could have done to deserve such a treatment. She quietly walked her way over to a small seating area and just sat there gloomily.

Omega was curious as to why she was by herself when the other kids in that building were playing a game of tag with plants. It was pretty cool to watch how the person 'it' would have to stand still and sing to make the plant tag someone. The young elves were very nimble and quick but the vines were even nimbler and quicker meaning many people were it.

But he would always look over to Layla and see her not participating in the game. He guessed it had something to do with the way the adults shunned her. He really didn't like the way she was treated and he promised himself that he would do everything he could to make her feel joy when she was spending time with him.

He was getting hungry so he decided to go back to where she met him and wait for her to show up tomorrow or whenever she wanted to talk to him. He made his way back much slower than 17 miles an hour and set up camp. He summoned his own meal and did his own thing until nighttime.

The night was just as peaceful as the morning just with different animals making noise. He fell asleep listening to the sound of the forest and woke up at first light. He changed his tent back into his backpack and ate some home cooked blue eggs and ham which was delicious. He went back to the same spot before and got into his meditating position stretching out his senses.

Several hours later, he heard some running footsteps and hardened some vapor around the area. He smiled to himself when he recognized Layla. Just a couple seconds later, Layla burst through the edge of the forest and smiled broadly when she saw Omega.

Layla was hoping beyond hope that Omega would still be there to talk to her. He was the only one who had ever talked nicely to her ever since her parents died so his presence was a welcome change. She ran over to him and gave him a big hug.

Omega was surprised at first that she would trust him enough to give him a hug but didn't question it. He hugged her back and said, "Good morning, Layla." She pulled back and smiled at him with so much happiness and relief shining in her eyes. Omega was smiling a pretty big smile too but of course she couldn't see it because of his mask.

She said still overjoyed, "I'm glad you stayed. I was a little worried you would leave when I said there was danger in the forest but you stayed and I'm happy." Omega smiled at her and said, "Of course I stayed. I told you I will be here a whole year before I go. And who knows, I may stay longer if I have a good enough reason."

They both hugged again and she said, "You want to play with me?" Omega, remembering how she was all alone while the other children played, said, "Of course I'll play with you." Omega watched that already big smile grow even bigger and she said, "Let's play tag!" She quickly tagged Omega running off saying, "You're it!"

She quickly darted through the forest and Omega slowly got up and stretched. However, he remembered how yesterday she ran extremely fast and how he was barely able to keep up. He cursed silently and darted after her. He may or may not have cheated and hardened some vapor to find her speeding through the forest and he changed directions to intercept her.

It took about 3 minutes for Omega to finally catch Layla and say, "You're it" before darting off already winded. It only took Layla about a minute to catch him and dart off. He cursed elf speed and thought of a solution he practiced on his island. He quickly went to the stream a little ways away and stepped into the water.

After getting his energy back, he willed the water to wrap around his ankles and go all the way over his body. After he was done, his body basically had an ice, robotic skeleton. He smirked and willed the ice to move in a running motion increasing his speed to that of an elf. He, again, cheated to find her and chased after her.

He was able to catch her much easier and keep away from her longer until they were both tired and laying on the ground next to each other laughing. Omega was breathing semi-hard since most of the work was just manipulating the water while Layla was breathing hard, not used to the exercise.

They looked at each other and stared into each other's eyes. Sea green with orange flecks looked into velvety purple each containing joy. She smiled and said, "Thank you for playing with me. I've never had so much fun before." Omega smiled sadly at her once again remembering her sitting alone.

He said, "I will always be here waiting for you whenever you need me. If you're ever in trouble, just call my name and I will come. I had fun today too so don't worry about me not wanting to spend time with you. I will always enjoy spending time with you." Layla smile brightened and she got up and hugged Omega. Omega gave her a hug back before they separated.

She looked up at the sun and sighed. "I guess I have to go now. Lunch will be in 30 minutes and I don't want to be late again." Omega almost trembled in anger that she got slapped just for being a little late but controlled himself and said, "Alright then, come back whenever you want to play or talk. I will wait for you."

With a last smile, she jogged off into the forest back to her village. Omega followed her again to make sure she wouldn't get punished just to get punished. Based on how she was treated by the villagers, he wouldn't put it past them.

He watched her the rest of the day and was relieved that there was no physical punishment even though she was still being shunned. However, this time in her little quiet place, he could now see a small smile across her face which made Omega happy knowing she was thinking about her time with him.

Over the next month, the system was the same. In the morning, she would come and play with Omega. In the afternoon, he would stay in the village being bored but happy with the memories she had with Omega.

However, one day, he could tell the other kids were planning something with their hushed conversations and their occasional glances to Layla. So, he watched her all day making sure nothing happened to her. He even watched her during the night while she was asleep and he was glad he did.

Around the middle of the night, he felt movement inside Layla's room as the other kids got out of their beds. He now had his full attention on the room and watched as they gathered around Layla's bed. Omega's blood started to boil as they got near her bed and surrounded it.

Now Omega did not like to use some of his powers but he would definitely use it to prevent them from dishonorably hurting Layla. As one of the kids reached to grab Layla, Omega slightly moved the water in his hand causing a sharp and quick pain making him jerk his hand back.

The group paused for a second looking at the kid who was looking at his hand rubbing it. After a few seconds, the kid tried it again but got the same, quick pain. Another kid tried to touch her but, yet again, reeled her hand back in pain. The kids looked at Layla warily and started conversing with each other.

One of the kids broke off from the group towards the door to probably get one of the women. However, Omega didn't want anybody to get out and decided to scare them a little bit. As the kid reached for the door, Omega did the small pain again and the child jumped back. The group of kids started to panic and questioned how well they thought out their plan. They decided to try to wake up Layla verbally so they started to say 'Layla' but couldn't seem to form the words.

Omega smirked to himself as he sucked the moisture from their mouths to prevent them from speaking. The children were now huddled together in the middle of the room clinging to each other afraid. One of the brave kids decided to break off from the group and test to see if he could go back to bed.

Omega allowed him to get into bed and even allowed his mouth to gather moisture again. He watched as the kid sighed in relief and whisper to the other kids to get back into bed. The children slowly and warily made their back to their bed. After they all were tucked under the covers and nothing was happening to them, they tried to go back to sleep and slowly fell asleep in thankful relief.

In the morning, they all woke up but no one got out of bed like they usually would and just looked at each other waiting for Layla to wake up. They didn't dare try to wake her up in fear of the pain they felt last night. They watched Layla warily as she woke up and stretched. Omega smirked as he saw Layla look at the others confused as they looked at her warily. She slowly got out of bed still looking at the other kids who were still in bed.

The brave kid who went to his bed first slowly got out of bed with all the other kids watching. Once he made it out of bed without pain, others soon followed. However, all they did was stand at the side of their bed. Layla still gave confused looks as she got dressed and walked to the door. She saw the other kids tense up as she reached towards the door and gave them a questioning look.

However, she didn't see anticipation in their eyes like they usually had with a prank. She saw pure fear that something would happen if she tried to open the door. She looked back at the door with a little worry and reached out. She touched the door handle and slowly turned it until it opened. She slowly swung it open and looked at the other kids who still haven't moved. She just shrugged and decided they were trying to mess with her and walked out the door.

Omega watched the children start to get prepared for the day and decided that they wouldn't mess with her again in fear of repercussion. He smirked at their fear but then quickly realized what he was doing. He could start to see what the Dark Sword saw in him, so he quickly left and headed back to their meeting spot.

Another three more months passed of Layla and Omega hanging out. The kids never tried to mess with Layla again and they wisely kept their mouths shut about it. Of course, the people still shunned Layla but she didn't care anymore. She had Omega who would love her for who she was and not about what she could do.

Omega decided to change it up this time and walk with her to their spot so he waited at the tree line for her. For the four months, he had never been revealed to any other races on the planet even though he had had a few close calls with how silent they stalk through the forest.

Omega was brought back to reality when he saw Layla jump through the door and start to skip over to the forest. However, three adult male elves blocked her path a couple of feet outside the forest edge. Omega didn't know what was going on but he didn't like it. He watched the happy expression on Layla's face turn into one of confusion then horror as one of the elves planted a sapling.

He watched as the entire elf clan start to gather. Now, Omega definitely didn't like how this was turning out. He was itching to make her happy again but knew he shouldn't interfere so he decided to watch to see what would happen.

They started speaking in their own tongue which Omega only knew bits and pieces like ... make ... grow ... else. The words he did catch didn't sound very good to him. He could tell Layla was trying to make a point but the elves wouldn't have any of it and just snapped at her, telling her to do something.

She looked at the plant and took a deep breath. Omega wondered if she was going to control it like the other kids did while playing tag so he waited to see what she would do. She started singing but it didn't sound like the voice she usually sang with. It lacked the joy it had before when she sang for him.

When the song ended five minutes later, the sapling hadn't moved or grown at all. She stared at it horror struck leaving a confused Omega wondering why not being able to move it would scare her so much. He looked around to the other villagers and saw either somber or indifferent expressions. Even the kids had looks of pity on their faces which Omega still didn't understand.

One of the male elves walked forward to the silent Layla and spoke something in their tongue. She started crying and fell to her knees. The elf said a few more things then drew a sword. Omega was panicking just as much as Layla now. He didn't know what that elf planned to do with that sword and he really didn't want to find out.

The elf said one last thing before raising his sword. Right before bringing it down, Layla lifted her crying face and yelled, "Omega!" That was all he needed to move into action. Omega didn't know exactly how he got from the top of the trees all the way down to her before the sword ran her through, but he did and he wasn't complaining.

He jumped down and drew his sword on his hip and blocked the oncoming blow to the surprise of the elf. Omega used this distraction to push the elf away and he stumbled back a few steps. The audience was struck speechless with the sudden intruder.

Layla looked up after hearing swords collide and saw Omega. She didn't know where he came from but was happy he was here. She instantly got off her feet and grabbed onto him after he pushed the adult off.

Omega surveyed the situation and saw there were at least 20 male guards with weapons drawn and 10 women with weapons. Behind them was the rest of the village who moved behind their defense after Omega showed up.

The male elf spoke up in his own tongue but Omega just said, "I don't speak elvish." The male elf was visibly shocked with the non-elvish voice that came from behind the mask and how young it sounded. However, the force that this boy pushed against his sword didn't match the voice.

The elf said, "You speak English. Who are you and why have you come and interrupted us?!" Omega just rolled his eyes and said, "I don't tell people my name unless given a good reason and your own name. However if you thought for a second you might figure it out." Omega scolded himself for being his usual sarcastic self at the moment but he couldn't help it. That elf was about to kill a little girl just because she didn't make a little plant grow! "Second, I came because Layla called me." Omega watched as the attention switched to the small child clinging to Omega.

Omega looked down at Layla and said softly, "Layla, please let go and get behind me." She obediently obeyed and stepped behind him. He turned back towards the other elves and said, "Why were you trying to kill Layla?" He said this calmly with no accusation or emotion at all. He still had barely restrained rage flowing through him but he wanted answers first.

The elf simply said matter of factly, "She is unable to make a sapling move or grow so it is in our tradition to kill her. We cannot exile her because she knows too much and other clans will use that information to attack us. She can't stay among us because all our people have to have the ability to sing to the plants and the balance will be broken if she stayed." Now Omega was confused. Just because she didn't make that specific plant grow didn't mean she couldn't do it.

Omega said questionably, "But she does have the ability to make plants grow?" He remembered watching the plants grow healthier and taller when she sang to him and he's pretty sure that means she could make plants grow unless ... elves had a different definition of grow. He had much to learn if that was the case.

One of the elf warriors spat, "Then how come she was unable to make this plant grow, outsider." Omega didn't like how aggressive these people were and the clear insult with the outside comment. Omega said, "She had no joy in her voice like she does with me which I believe is why this plant didn't grow. Now, I don't know much about your ways or abilities so I can't say for sure. However, if anybody is unable to make things grow, how is killing them the right choice?"

Omega looked through the crowd and spotted many thoughtful faces contemplating his words. Whether it was the joy comment or the killing comment he didn't know. However, the guards with the weapons still had them pointing towards the two and didn't even look like they were contemplating it at all.

One of the bigger guards stepped up and said, "It doesn't matter if it's right or wrong. You have trespassed on our territory and attacked one of the guards. Trespass alone is a death sentence and attacking a guard just leaves no doubt that you need to be killed. Any last words?" Omega really didn't like how the guard spoke to him matter of factly so Omega guessed he would have to knock him down a peg or two.

Omega, of course, stepped up to the challenge. Layla tried to stop him but he just told her to watch and that there was nothing to worry about. When Omega got 10 feet from his opponent, he did a slight bow and got into a ready stance. The guard scoffed and charged.

Omega wasn't too surprised that this man didn't bow back with honor but oh well. He calmly waited for his opponent to sprint up to him then quickly jumped to the left when he brought his sword down. The sword kept its momentum and immediately changed direction. Omega held the sword against his side and let the blow slide off him before he charged the elf.

The sudden charge into the elf's personal space shocked him and it made it easy for Omega to stick his leg through the elf's legs and slightly moving it the side. He immediately stuck out his free hand and pushed the guard on the chest. When the elf tried to step back as to not lose balance, Omega pulled his foot back to him and trip the guard.

When the guard recovered, Omega already had his sword on his neck. The elf growled and yelled something in his native tongue which caused a gasp from Layla. Omega stole a peek at Layla to see what happened but the many footsteps approaching him drew his attention away from her. He saw all the warriors charging at him so he quickly knocked out the guard and jumped back into a ready position with his other sword now in his free hand.

The warriors collided and Omega had his work cut out for him. He was mainly on defense but occasionally went on offense resulting in a knocked out warrior. After about five minutes of fighting, 11 male warriors and 7 female warriors were left. They stared at each other debating what would be there next move.

Apparently, the elves had a new tactic when one the warriors yelled out to the people in the back. This elicited another gasp from Layla but Omega knew to keep his attention on the other elvish people. The group behind the warriors started to sing and Omega knew what was coming next.

Vines quickly shot at Omega trying to wrap him up or stab him. He dodged most of them and cut the rest severing them from their roots. He did this for about 2 minutes until the singing stopped. Before the villagers could make a move, Omega warned, "I would highly recommend you not use magic again. Or else, I may play by the same rules and this battle will be over really quick."

The people looked warily at Omega and his unknown magic capability. The soldiers assessed the situation and apparently thought he was bluffing. The soldiers barked out some more orders and the people started singing again while the guards charged. The vines were the first to reach Omega but stopped short of reaching him.

The guards stopped their advance about 10 feet away in surprise and confusion on why the vines stopped when the people were still singing. Omega smirked under his mask and willed the water in the plants to wrap around the surprised guards quickly subduing them.

The people also were shocked to see their magic not working and their surprise quickly turned into fear when the vines turned against their own warriors. They stopped trying to control the vines and thought of another solution.

Omega waited to see what the villagers had in store and prepared for anything. Once the singing commenced, Omega felt the grass start to grow at his feet and he smirked. He remembered his practice on the grasslands and quickly froze a clear coat of water over the grass to prevent it from growing.

Once again, the villagers were surprised that their magic wasn't working and now started to back up in fear. Omega sighed a little because he didn't really want them to fear him. He only wanted them to know that they can't just abuse a child because she didn't make something grow that one time under the pressure of the entire village breathing down her neck.

Omega sighed and released the guards from the vine grip. The guards and villagers stood there in silence waiting to see what would happen. Omega spoke up and said, "I do not wish to fight you and I didn't mean to intrude on your land. I knew nothing about this planet when I first got here and I met Layla my first day. She has visited me for the past four months and I have given her joy unlike you. Now, I let a few physical punishments slide and I also prevented some. But let me make something clear, you will not harm her again. I have seen her unknowingly use her voice to grow plants. She was always happy to spend time with me and it showed in her voice thus giving it enough power to grow plants. At least, that is my theory."

Omega scanned the still silent crowd and waited for a response. One of the older villagers stepped up and said, "You are a mighty warrior to be able to stand against all these warriors and have impressive magic if you are able to steal control over the vines and stop the grass from growing. I am the leader of this village and you have my word no harm will ever come to her again ... I have one request though." Omega narrowed his eyes at why he would need to fulfill a request to get them from messing with Layla when he subdued all the fighters without much effort.

Omega nodded his head to see what the request was and listened to the elder. "For the past 40 years, there has been a monster prowling around our borders striking fear into the hearts of the villagers. He steals our livestock and one time even burned down part of the forest. He poses a major threat to this village and, in turn, everyone in it." Omega could tell he was referring to Layla on the last part which would give him more reason to kill the monster.

Omega let the information sink in. The monster they were talking about didn't seem to want to hurt them since it hadn't attacked them all this time when it clearly could. However, there was no telling what it could be planning.

Omega asked, "Alright, I'll see what I can do. What does it look like?" Inside, though, Omega was shaking his head in resignation. Once Omega left Earth, he really hoped he wouldn't have had to deal with monsters anymore. But, of course, Omega could never get a lifelong break.

The villagers got out of their fighting stance and the guards put away their weapons. The old elf smiled and said, "Splendid. He has a slender build with blue markings across his whole body and four arms. He is at least 7 1/2 feet tall made of pure muscle. He has grey, rock like skin that is extremely tough. We were barely able to scratch him and that was with all of us working together."

"He shows himself around once every month and leaves with about 5 of our livestock. We've tried fighting before but he is just too skilled. He quad-wields swords and is like a whirlwind of blades. He slices up the plants we try to use and could easily kill any soldiers that get too close." The villager ended and waited to see if he scared this cloaked figure. However, he was surprised to see that he just nodded.

Omega thought about it for a second and it sounded like a monster he could take. However, something was bugging him about the actions of the monster. He brushed it aside for now and decided he would find out later.

Omega nodded and said "Okay, you want to take me to it?"

The villagers were a little surprised of his eagerness but were filled with hope that they wouldn't have to worry about the monster anymore. The old elf smiled and said, "When the time comes we can show you the way. It should be another week until he shows up so we will send out scouts to warn us when he is here. Until then, we will provide anything that you need and feel free to stay anywhere you want."

Omega smiled under his mask even if they couldn't see it and said, "Thanks but I'll stay in the forest during the night and come back in the day to do whatever. I provide my own meals and other supplies so just permission to enter your village is fine." Omega didn't want to leave the peacefulness of the forest and he could also have his own home cooked meals which he would prefer them not knowing he could just summon food.

The elf nodded even though he didn't understand why someone would want to sleep in the forest but he just put it down as something his kind did, whatever his kind was. "Thank you, ... uh what's your name?" Then he remembered him saying he needs to know his name before he says his name. "Oh, and mine is Hysolph."

Omega chuckled and said, "Mine is Omega. Now, I am going back to the forest with Layla. If you need me, just yell out my name into the forest and I should come. And, if I am not here in the village but Layla is, she knows where to find me." With that, Omega walked back into the forest leaving no evidence he was there in the first place.

The elvish people stood there in silence before Layla smiled brightly and ran into the forest breaking them out of their stupor. Layla caught up to Omega and tackled him from behind in a hug. They wrestled on the ground for bit until Omega came out on top and they stared into each other's eyes.

She smiled and said, "Thank you Omega. You saved my life." Omega just smiled and said, "All in a day's work." They got back up and walked quietly through the forest back to their spot. They walked in silence as they enjoyed the quietness of the forest and being in each other's company.

HEYO! Another chapter up for your pleasure of reading. So, what did you think about the beginning? Yes, No? Anyway, hope you liked it and for those impatient readers out there, it's only one more chapter until Omega meets Chaos. ;)

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	24. Infusion

Hello Everyone! HAPPY NEW YEAR! As a present to my faithful readers, I'm posting the last chapter of Omega's adventures the same day as the end of 2015. After today, all of us and Omega will take the next step in our journeys. Anyway, here's another chapter for everyone to enjoy!

Over the next week and a half, Omega visited the village every day and spent time with Layla and the other children. When Omega and Layla came back after the fight and were about to enter the village, he asked Layla to sing while she still felt the joy from their time together and the calming presence he provided her. She happily sung for him with all her heart in it and produced the most beautiful sounds.

Unknown to her, several elders were hiding in the brush off to the side. The elders watched amazed as the plants grew at an exceptional rate and applauded after she was done. Of course, the sudden clapping surprised Layla but the male elf said his congratulations, surprising her even more when they apologized for their rash thinking and decision making.

Being the kind girl she was, she instantly forgave them, too overcome with joy to hold grudges. However, Omega still gave them a look saying he wasn't ready to forgive them.

After that, she was finally accepted by the people. In the morning, they would both go to the forest together until lunch where she ate with the rest of the children. Then, Omega, Layla, and the other kids would all play vine tag.

A few weeks later, all the children and Omega were playing vine tag when two elves sprinted into the valley towards the elder. They spoke in the elvish language which Omega was starting to learn and if he had to say so himself, he was catching on real quick. The elder beckoned Omega over after dismissing the guard. Omega bade the group a quick goodbye before jogging over to the elder.

The old elf looked at Omega critically before saying, "The monster has been spotted in a clearing about a couple miles from here. The scouts can take you back to them and provide support should you need it." Omega nodded but said, "I would appreciate it if they brought me to it but then come back to the village. I have no idea how this will end so I don't want to have to worry about anyone getting hurt."

The elves around Omega looked at him strangely and were thoroughly confused. The way he phrased it and the tone he used made it sound like he wasn't worried at all and that there wasn't any need to worry about facing an extremely strong beast by himself. Since they knew that he wasn't arrogant in any way, they started to wonder just how strong he was and what had he been hiding this whole time.

The elder was silent for a second looking Omega over before nodding, letting Omega make his own decisions since he was helping them. "Good luck, Omega." The elder looked towards the scouts and gave them a nod indicating it was time. They sprinted off into the forest with Omega following right behind them. The elves were a little surprised to see Omega running just as fast as them but didn't have much time to dwell on it since they covered the couple miles rather quickly.

Omega saw the clearing up ahead and a humongous creature sitting there crisscross applesauce style with its four arms resting on his knees and other arms. It looked exactly like the elder said charcoal grey skin and blue lines stretching across its entire body. However, he would say its size should probably be estimated a little more than 8 foot.

Omega gave a quick nod towards the elves and they sprinted back into the forest back to the village. Omega waited about a minute to give them enough space in case something happened before stepping out and walking towards it.

When he was about 20 feet from the monster, it spoke in a deep, old voice filled with wisdom, "I see the elves have hired another assassin to try to kill me." The being turned around and was a little surprised to see a cloaked figure standing there not trying to sneak up on him like he thought at first. He originally thought he was purposefully trying to be quiet but it looked like he naturally walked without noise. He would definitely have to watch this person carefully and be prepared for anything.

Omega was surprised too, though more to do with the elves actually hiring people to kill this monster. The way they requested his help seemed like a spur of the moment kind of request and not something they would have made many other times. He might have thought it was lying but there was no logical reason for the lie. The rock creature also showed surprise at his appearance which would mean he was expecting something else, leading to being used to other assassin appearances.

However, Omega didn't show any surprise in his body language and smoothly asked, "Another? So it's common for them to hire people to kill you?" Omega was starting to question the elves. So far the 'monster' wasn't really looking like the bad guy in this case. Of what he could tell, it seemed like the elves were the aggressor in this confrontation. They did say he stole a few cattle or whatever but Omega was thinking he may have had a good reason.

The creature scoffed and gave the cloaked figure a disbelieving but slightly questioning look. "Didn't they hire you?" The creature gave him a once over and he had to admit that this masked and cloaked man would look pretty intimidating if he wasn't a trained warrior. However, his stance indicated a non-confrontational posture and his laid back attitude made him think this assassin just wanted to talk at the moment. Whether to feel him out or gather information he didn't know.

He at first thought this boy just sounded confident in his victory, however, as he looked closer and picked apart how they boy phrased his question and the tone used, it was like he knew he would win if it came to blows. The creature increased his guard and prepared to jump up and unsheathe his swords at a moment's notice.

Omega shrugged a shoulder and said, "Not exactly. I came to this planet a few months ago and met this girl. We became friends and after I finally revealed myself, they attacked me for intruding on their territory. I beat them and I guess you could say we made up. However, I'm only staying with them because of the girl. I was told about a monster threatening the people and they brought me to you." He paused for a second and continued with a slightly questioning tone. "However, you don't seem to want to threaten the people." He could tell by the way the monster spoke that he didn't have any inclination to attack the village. He also came to this conclusion based on how it was just sitting there without a care in the world when he first arrived.

Omega watched as the creature nodded and said, "I only steal the animals when I wasn't able to catch enough to feed myself. Other than that I have no reason to interact with them." Omega nodded suspecting that and asked, "Why did you come to this planet."

The creature raised a rocky eyebrow and said, "I was given a prophecy by a witch saying that I would battle a great warrior on this planet and be beaten." Omega looked thoroughly confused under his mask and probably showed in his body language too. Why you would purposely go somewhere you know you would be defeated? So he voice his thought in the simplest phrase, "Huh?"

The creature sent him a taunting smirk which really irritated Omega. "If you beat me in a fight I'll tell, or show whichever comes first, you the rest of the prophecy." The creature pulled out four swords hanging from his waist and back similar to Omega and got into a ready stance, waiting for Omega to prepare himself.

Omega nodded, pleased that the creature had honor. "I would like to know the name of whom I'm about to battle." The creature smirked and said, "Razack." Omega nodded respectfully and replied, "Omega." With that, he pulled out the two swords around his waist and bowed slightly to the monster waiting to see what would happen.

Razack was slightly surprised to see he had two more swords under the cloak. He thought Omega only had the ones on his back and it made him wonder as to why he pulled out the hidden ones. It would make more strategical sense to save the hidden ones to use as a surprise attack while battling. Unless, either the two swords he held know were special or the two still in the scabbard were special. And guessing that he didn't sense anything special in the unsheathed swords, he guessed the latter.

Razack was also surprised to see the bow and he slightly bowed too saying, "It will be an honor to fight a respectable warrior." He then positioned himself into a ready stance just like Omega. Omega agreed, "Indeed it shall."

They stood there for a couple of seconds assessing each other. It was obvious that Razack had much more strength than Omega but it was also obvious that Omega could move his body much quicker. Razack also didn't know what race Omega was so he didn't know any possible abilities he would have to worry about. Razack smirked and thought, _'This will definitely be an interesting battle_.'

Since Omega knew he was at a disadvantage in the strength category, he froze a clear layer of water on his swords so he could use his power to increase the speed and power of his sword. Also to help hold up the sword when they were locked together with Razack's swords.

Of course, Razack didn't notice a clear coat form over the swords because he was still assessing Omega's stance that seemed impenetrable. After he could tell Omega wasn't going to move and he wouldn't gain any more information without fighting, he propelled himself forward as fast as a bullet hoping to end this quick before Omega could show the skill he undoubtedly had.

However, Razack was surprised to have two of his swords blocked flawlessly but quickly followed with the other two while Omega was defenseless.

The only problem was, Omega was expecting that. Omega saw the two swords coming towards his sides to slice him in half. He quickly lowered himself on his knee using his swords to block all four blades.

Razack smirked knowing he already won. All he had to do add more weight to the swords and the small man would crumple. However, as he put more and more weight on the blades until he finally put everything he had into it, he found Omega still kneeling there holding up his entire weight and strength baring down on him. This confused Razack as to how Omega could be stronger than him when he put everything he had into it. That's not even adding Omega's much smaller stature indicating he shouldn't be able to hold that much weight ... until it clicked. He didn't know what magic Omega possessed.

Omega watched and waited as confusion turned to understanding before swiping his feet at Razack's. Instead of falling, Razack pushed off Omega to propel him backwards to keep from tripping. Razack smiled with a little more blood lust in his features. "Impressive magic to withstand my full strength. Let's see how fast you are." Once again, Razack flew forward at an incredible speed striking at Omega.

Of course, Omega blocked it but Razack went into a flurry of attacks focusing on attacking many times as fast as possible rather than using his strength. However, he was once again surprised to see Omega keeping up with him, though, he could tell they were even in this department.

Omega, on the other hand, had his mind whirling. He knew this was going to be a hard battle but this was incredible. He had never faced an opponent that put him solely on defense except the dusk shade, though that was more due to him giving up on attacking since he couldn't hurt him. Omega smirked, hoping he could gain another ally once this was over.

Omega studied Razack's attacks and finally found a flaw in one of his strikes. When his two left arms swept sideways and his two right ones were coming around the back, he left about an inch open under his bottom left arm. Omega patiently waited until the opportunity presented itself and struck swiftly.

Razack was getting a little annoyed that he couldn't breach this small man's defense so he added a little strength to his blows to wear him out quicker. However, he must have opened a little on his left side when all of the sudden Omega struck at his left side. He felt a sharp pain pop up and he propelled himself back as to not let Omega continue with the upper hand or finding any more cracks in his attack. He looked down at his side and saw a gash about two inches deep and 5 inches long. A decent flow of light blue blood was running out of the wound but nothing life threatening.

Both Omega and Razack were breathing hard after their five minute straight battle only to separate with a scratch. However, both were patient beings and knew facing a skilled warrior took time and patience with one slip possibly ending the battle. Even though the scratch wasn't deep, Razack could still feel the pain from it and that could be all it took to distract him at the worst of times.

Omega didn't wait for Razack to make the first move this time and sprinted at him. They both went back to a flurry of blows with Omega back on the defensive. Even though Omega was having a hard time battling against Razack, he wished he could do it over and over again. They were evenly matched in swordplay and with the ice on his sword, it was an even match in the strength department. Of course, if Omega wanted to end it he could by either using his other powers or his two swords on his back but why end such a good match?

They went at it for about three more minutes. Omega's cloak got torn a couple of times with some close calls but nothing touched him. Omega saw another opening on his right this time probably because Razack was favoring his left a little too much. Again, Omega waited until the right opportunity presented itself and struck.

Razack was hit again and tried to propel himself back, however, Omega quickly switched to offense taking Razack by surprise. Omega turned into a whirlwind of blades with help from his ice on his sword. Even though Razack had a good defense, he was wounded on both sides and caught by surprise. It was at that moment he knew he lost.

Omega feinted to the left and went right around Razack's sword and slashed above his knee. Razack went down on one knee but keep fighting hoping to surprise Omega that he was still fighting on one knee but was disappointed to see it had no effect on Omega.

Omega slashed at Razack's throat making him fall on his back with a thud. The next thing Razack knew, he had a sword at his throat.

Razack smiled and said, "You can finish it." He waited for the blade to descend but actually felt the opposite. He eyed Omega warily as Omega sheathed his swords even though Razack still had his at his side easily assessable.

Razack sat up and said, "You know I could easily kill you right now?" He didn't know why Omega would trust him enough to sheath his swords unless some type of magic was protecting him, which could be true. Omega just smiled and said, "You showed you had honor at the beginning of the battle which leads me to believe you would have honor at the end too."

Razack was a little surprised but quickly hid it under a smirk. He got up and sheathed his swords followed with a slight bow. Omega's curiosity got the best of him and he asked with a little excitement in his voice, "So what was the rest of the prophecy?" Omega knew he probably shouldn't have asked since he didn't want to hear about any more prophecies especially when they might involve him. And judging that he beat Razack and the prophecy said someone would beat him on this planet ... he was having second thoughts now.

Razack smirked even more to the confusion and starting dread of Omega. However, what happened next surprised Omega even more. Out of nowhere, Razack's hand shot up and touched Omega's chest. Omega's body instantly froze and became as stiff as a board, unable to move even the slightest inch. It was only slight consolation that it looked like Razack was frozen too.

All of the sudden, Omega heard a voice in his head, " _The rest of the prophecy said that 'the warrior who beats but does not kill shall be in need of a companion to aid him on his journey. Once the two bond in mind and body shall they become the unstoppable team and take on the greatest of enemies.' You have beaten me but did not kill me. I can tell by the way you talked and acted that you are capable of much more than just swordplay which probably means you could have beaten me much sooner."_

Omega didn't like the bond in mind and body part. He would prefer to keep his body thank you very much and he didn't exactly want Razack bonded in his mind either. However, he still couldn't move and tried using every one of his abilities but came up short; he was at this being's mercy.

Omega warily asked in his mind, " _So what exactly does it mean bond in mind and body exactly?"_ Omega could feel Razack smirk in his head as he replied, " _Just like it says. I will merge with you and we will become an unstoppable team."_

Right when he finished, Omega saw Razack's body start to disintegrate away in grey and blue dust. However, instead of the ashes falling, they swirled around the decaying body, through Razack's arm, and into Omega's body. Omega could feel the ashes entering his body and it reminded him of long ago when he got the flu shot. The entering didn't hurt almost at all but the filling sensation was quadrupled. He could feel his body changing as more dust entered him and he groaned mentally hoping he didn't look too different once this was over.

After two minutes, Razack's last finger finally disintegrated and disappeared into Omega. Right when the last speck of ash went into him, Omega unfroze and the clearing went up into chaos. Ice shards formed and shot out in random directions, random bursts of fire sprouted around the clearing, and a homemade pie fell in front him ... he forgot about his last ditched effort to break Razack's concentration.

However, he also forgot about his other ability he tried but was soon reminded when the ground split open and an earthquake around 8 magnitude shot out around him. He looked around at the now destroyed clearing with an inquisitive eyebrow and shrugged. That was why he told everyone to leave while he battled. Knowing himself he knew something like this would happen.

Turning his attention at his new body, Omega didn't feel any different like he thought he would be. He felt the same like nothing happened and the only thing that he noticed changed was that he was taller.

" _Except something did happen_." Omega jumped at Razack's unexpected comment in his head and groaned. " _Great, so now I have a creature in my head and I actually was part of another freaking prophecy. I have already been in plenty enough and now I apparently have to face the 'greatest of enemies' whoever that is._ "

Omega heard Razack chuckle and glared where Razack's body used to be since he couldn't glare at him. However, Razack apparently knew he was glaring and laughed harder. " _Who knew you could be so funny! I didn't know what to expect when I entered inside you but I'm enjoying it so far. I have my own room in your mind and it's quite nice and comfy._ "

Omega tried to figure out how there was a room inside his head but quickly gave up that thought should his mind explode trying to comprehend it. However, he did come up with an idea and hoped it would work. Omega concentrated in the apparent room inside his head and thought of a small room with nothing inside it.

It must have worked when he heard an indignant " _Hey!_ " and this time Omega chuckled. " _Alright, alright. You win. Now can I have my room back? I promise not to laugh at you too much._ " Omega frowned at that but knew that was the best he was going to get and he really wasn't a cruel guy.

After hearing a quick " _Thank you,"_ Omega asked, " _So what now. I have a being in my head that I can't get out and I am apparently supposed to merge with you with both mind and body. I guess the body part is taken care of since you are in my body but what about the mind?"_ He thought about it for a second until he was interrupted, " _I don't think we merged with our bodies yet. I just went inside you, not merged."_

Omega frowned at that. " _Well what does it mean to merge then?_ " If it was physically merge, then Omega didn't know how he felt about that. On one side, it would be pretty cool to have four arms. On the other side, he didn't know if it would be permanent.

Razack spoke up, " _Well, there is only one way to find out. Try focusing on merging our bodies and I will too. We'll see what happens._ " Omega groaned and interjected, " _What happens if I don't wanna."_ Omega could feel the scowl Razack had on his face and it actually reminded him of a parent scolding a child, which, made Omega feel funny since he had never really been scolded by his father.

" _You sound like a toddler who is scared to try something new."_ Omega gained a scowl too at that and said, " _I'm not scared. I just don't want to stay like that_." However, how he said that made him really sound like a toddler and he could feel Razack smirk. " _Oh fine! Let's get this over with. Nothing will probably happen anyway."_

Oh how wrong he was. When they both became quiet in concentration, Omega felt a stir inside his body and it started to heat up. His limbs felt like they were starting to be stretched like a rubber band and his side felt like white hot spikes being drove through him. Even though he was in very much pain, he still concentrated on shifting knowing that it would only end if he completed it.

More and more pressure built up on his side and he could feel himself getting taller. He quickly took off his cloak as to not rip it and stood tall out of instinct. He was still growing taller at around 6'8 now and his sides were filled with almost unbearable pain. His body started to hurt too and white hot slashes felt like they were piercing across his entire body.

Just as the pressure in his sides became almost unbearable, his skin broke and two arms shot out, ripping his clothes where they covered his new arms. Next, glowing blue lines started to weave themselves around his body just like on Razack. The stretching of his limbs soon stopped after that and he found himself around 7'3.

He fell to his knees in relief once the pain subsided. In his head, he felt Razack but it was different than before. This time it felt like their thoughts were closer together. Not one and the same but definitely closer. Omega slowly stood up and looked at his body.

He was definitely surprised at his new height and limbs but was even more surprised at the pulsing blue lines littering his body. The pulses went out in time to his heart and it felt like it was actually healing the left over pain. He also wondered if it also healed possible injuries but wasn't planning on testing that at the moment.

Omega smirked and created a frozen mirror and agreed he looked pretty bad ass with the extra arms and intricately designed lines flowing across his new arms. He saw that his new arms had the same greyish texture as Razack and started unwrapping his other arms to see if it also affected his other body parts. He glided his hand along his arm and was surprised that it actually felt rocky. Not as hard as a rock but not as soft as skin. The grey mixed very well with the blue and all in all liked his appearance.

His muscle mass increased substantially too. Anybody looking at him would still say he had a lean body but wouldn't doubt he could lift much more than before the change. He also looked at his eyes through the mirror and saw that they also changed. There was now an aqua blue ring around the sea green with grey specks mixing with the orange flecks. He was mesmerized by his own eyes and had to admit that he like them even more know. Maybe merging with Razack had some perks.

Razack spoke up with an appreciative tone. " _We look pretty good merged. However, you finally admit merging together had some perks only after you saw your eyes leaves me slightly concerned."_ Omega gave himself one last look in the mirror completely ignoring that last comment before melting it. " _We do look pretty bad ass, don't we?"_ They both silently agreed and Omega added, " _I can change back right?"_ He would strongly prefer the elves not knowing he infused himself with the 'monster' even if it was against his wishes.

Razack chuckled and said, " _I would imagine we could. Just think back to your regular body and I'll think about going back to my room."_ Omega was confused at that. " _Wait, you're not in your room?"_ He didn't know where else he would be so of course it sparked his curiosity. Razack answered, " _No, my conscience is spread throughout your body. Instead of having my conscience all in one spot, it spread like it is now when we merged in body. I can also feel our minds more connected than before but I don't think we have merged there yet. I believe time and practice will be what we need to complete that stage."_

Omega nodded his head agreeing. Since this was part Razack's body too, it would be likely that Razack would have some influence too. " _Can you control my body if I allow it?"_ Omega could feel Razack thinking about it and replied, " _Only one way to find out."_ Omega let his body go limp and he could feel Razack's presence in his body grow stronger until he lost all control in his bottom two arms. He didn't lose feeling though, just the control aspect of it.

Omega used his upper arms to make a fist bump gesture and Razack responded with the same. They fist bumped each other and Omega said, " _I guess that means you can control parts of our body too."_ Omega was a little surprised he said our body so easily but then thought about it. It was technically their body now since they were merged and it would be completely unfair if Razack just had to sit back in Omega's mind for the rest of his life. He shrugged and said, _"I think it's time for me to go back to the elves. They must have felt that earthquake and might be a little worried now._ "

Omega could feel Razack bow his head and said, " _Agreed, and I think we can both can concur on not telling them about our merging."_ Omega frowned adding to that thought. " _There would be no telling what they would try to do if they found out. Yep, I agree. I also think that nobody in general really needs to know. It would be a real surprise on the battlefield once we can transition quickly."_ They both smirked at that and imagined a surprised enemy on the battlefield. Then, they realized they thought the same thought and then thought how well their minds were already merged closer than before.

They both got out of their same thoughts and concentrated on transitioning back to Omega's original body. He could feel the change come upon him but was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't as painful. Of course, it was still slightly painful but nothing like before. It felt more like a pressure release slowly relieving itself.

One minute later, Omega stood in the middle of clearing looking exactly the same, only with holes torn in his sides. Looking himself over to see if anything had changed, he rewrapped his arm and retrieved his cloak. After putting it back on, he reveled in the feeling of the cool silk flowing over him, adding more mystery to an already mysterious character. Omega smiled to himself and thought, all in all, this was a pretty good day. He gained another companion to help him on his journey and the elves would owe him a debt if he ever needed it in the future.

Omega leisurely made his way back through the beautiful and peaceful forest to the elven village. He knew they would probably throw a celebration or something to that nature when he returned with a victory so he enjoyed the calm forest before everything became loud and hectic. Sometimes he wished he could turn into an animal such as a bird to be able to fly freely without a worry in the world. Nevertheless, he was stuck on the ground. He was, however, lucky to at least have the experience of the wind in his hair on the back of his daughter, Sylvia. She allowed him to fly on her back a couple of times and they were some of the best moments of his life. He always enjoyed spending time with his daughter and with the added flying experience, Omega never felt so alive and free.

He really missed spending time with her and a wave of longing hit him. He quickly got out of his stupor before it progressed to missing other people he met throughout his journey.

Razack could sense Omega's downcast attitude and said, " _I may not know your past, but I can tell you have been through much and persevered through it all with your head held high. You are a great and honorable warrior that has earned my respect in a matter of minutes. If you stay strong, I don't believe there will ever be a force that can stop you from accomplishing your goals, definitely with me by your side._ " Omega chuckled and thought a quick " _Thank you_ " since he was nearing the village.

Right when Omega exited the tree line, he was met with the entire village's eyes focused on him. He stopped mid-step and looked back at them curious as to why they were so silent and prepared to spring back into the forest in case something happened to go wrong. It's not like he thought anything would go wrong, but walking into a quiet party would make anyone nervous.

The elder who assigned him the task walked forward and asked, "Are you okay and did you defeat the _monster_?" Omega could hear Razack grumble about hearing the word monster said with distaste but Omega ignored him. "Yes, you will no longer have to worry about him." Omega watched as the elder's face brightened and he turned around yelling something in elvish to the villagers who didn't hear him.

It only took a second for cheers to erupt in rejoice which could probably be heard halfway across the world. While the sound was deafening, the villagers' voices were still the most beautiful he had ever heard so he just listened. The elder held up his hand and the crowd immediately stopped their cheers.

The elder spoke again, "I am overjoyed to hear of your success. As you can see, the earthquake that happened while you were battling that monster left some devastation in its wake, but I ask you not to worry about it." Omega smiled sheepishly and said, "Yeah, sorry about that. I guess I got a little careless." Razack said " _Idiot_ " in his head but he didn't know why until he saw the surprised elder's face.

"You were the cause of the earthquake. You have power over both plants and earth?!" The villagers behind him also heard the exclamation and were shocked to hear Omega was the cause of the earthquake. Now, they were even more curious as to any other mystery abilities Omega had.

Omega scowled under his mask and thought " _Shut up_ " but only got a chuckle in return. He quickly tried to think of a way out of his predicament but came up short. He pretty much admitted to causing the earthquake so he couldn't deny it. "More or less" was Omega's nervous and incredibly smart reply. Before the elder could ask any more questions, Omega pretended to stretch out some kinks and said, "Well, I am pretty tired, soooo I guess I will head back to the forest and take a nice long nap."

However, before he could even make a move, the elderly elf quickly got between him and the forest and put his hand on his shoulder. "Nonsense, you can get some rest after the party the villagers have put together. They had faith that you would return so they prepared an amazing feast in your honor. We were very lucky that the earthquake didn't smash it!" He finished with a smile and started to lead Omega through the crowd.

Omega grumbled and thought, " _Of course one of the only things the earthquake didn't affect was the feast."_ Razack chuckled and said, " _What's the fun in that?_ " Omega found a way to glare at his partner inside his mind and he felt Razack shiver thus putting a smirk on Omega's face. However, the elder mistook his straighter posture for one of happiness for the upcoming feast while pushing through the crowds, leading Omega with new force to the party.

The celebration lasted around three hours and Omega liked next to none of it. The only good parts were Layla and Razack's snide remarks when having a conversation with some of the villagers.

The food itself was decent but nothing compared to Omega's home cooked meals. However, he was definitely not going to reveal more of his abilities to these elves who he can already see them putting him on a pedestal in their minds. He also saw some older elves looking at him a little greedily and Omega knew he should probably stay away from them. He also got some blushes and giggles from some of the elven girls but Omega pretty much ignored them. However, he would be a gentlemen and dance with them if they asked but he was definitely not going to ask them to dance.

After finally escaping the party with the help of a giggling Layla, Omega was able to find his way back into the forest. He waved back to Layla and said, "See you in the morning." Layla looked at Omega with a happy expression and said, "See you then." With that, Layla made her way back to the party and started chatting with her new friends.

Omega smiled at Layla and headed back to his campsite. Razack was complaining about having to listen to all that and Omega just came back with how he at least didn't have to interact so he shouldn't complain. Omega was actually surprised to find this joking side of Razack since he seemed like a serious, noble warrior most of the time. He definitely enjoyed the light conversations they had and the small arguments they had on what was the worst experience of the night.

Omega settled down inside his tent and stared up, processing everything that happened. He thought about how much had changed with just one day. He now had a companion stuck inside him, most likely never to come out, while also gaining new abilities to become even more powerful. The villagers were also indebted to him which could always come in handy at a later date. He soon fell into a blissful sleep thinking about how interesting his life was and how the universe could never cease to surprise him.

~~~1½ years later~~~

Omega decided to extend his stay on the planet another year to spend some more time with Layla and learn more about the villagers' culture. He also used this time to bond with his new companion.

Over the year and a half after the infusion, Omega and Razack both focused on combining their minds to form one mind. Each learned each other's history and each became closer, understanding the other better than twins did.

Omega was quite interested in Razack's history. His species were a very rare and secretive race. There were only around 20 left in the universe and very rarely came into contact with each other to produce offspring. Luckily, they live for about 10,000 years. Each one was a warrior like no other and saw fighting as a way to prove their honor. They trained non-stop to become the best warriors they could be and were known to be unbeatable in one on one combat and would take at least 50 men to take one down, if the men were lucky and they were unarmed. If they were armed even with just weapons, they could decimate entire armies.

They also have an ability that was rarely, if ever, used. The power of infusion. They thrived on good fights and were constantly searching for worthy opponents. Whenever they found one, they challenged them to duel. If they won, then that's more glory for them. If they lost, they would train and come back again. However, they assess their opponent while also dueling with them. If they were defeated for a second time and also found them worthy of sharing their abilities, then they would infuse themselves to the dueler just like what happened to Omega and Razack.

The only thing was that it had never happened before to the knowledge of Razack. Their race was a very judgmental and critical race that took every aspect of a person into account before even considering infusion. If there was one thing they didn't like, then they would not even consider infusing with them. Omega and Razack could have been the first to do an infusion or one of the rare few that have done it.

Omega watched as images of Razack's life fly by. He saw a child going around cities and different planets constantly learning and challenging people to fights. He was always alone due to his unique species and could never fit in with people because of his unique appearance. They would either scream at him and yell monster while running away or just shun him for being different. Also, looking like he could beat the crap out of you probably didn't help either. He was always alone and only had relief from this loneliness while training and fighting. It was a hard and boring life for 2000 years until he met a seer on one planet.

He was given a prophecy that one day he will be defeated on planet Jython and he would deem him worthy of infusion. They would fight many battles together and become an unstoppable force meant to take down even the toughest of opponents.

And that's why Razack came to Jython and fought anyone who challenged him for the past 40 years. He was a very patient man and could wait for hundreds of years for Omega to come but he was definitely grateful Omega came sooner rather than later.

Razack also learned of Omega's life. To say that he was shocked that he infused with an immortal half god would be an understatement. When he watched all of Omega's quests back on Earth, he was struck speechless except for the occasional 'impossible.' However, when he got to the betrayal, he was the opposite of speechless. He was very vocal about what he would do to those campers should ever meet them. Omega calmed him down by saying he had no intention whatsoever of going back.

After that, Razack was once again struck speechless with what Omega did after he left Earth. He was also surprised with Omega's new arm because he wondered why he couldn't really control that arm in the transformation that well. He definitely approved of Omega's companion choices because a phoenix was a rare and powerful being and the dusk shade was just on a whole different level.

So, after the year and a half, their minds were connected as close as they could be. They were able to do the transformation in less than 5 seconds and could switch control over different body parts flawlessly and still keep up what they were doing. They were a well-oiled fighting machine.

To help practice control over their body, Omega would bend the water in the vines to attack Razack when he had full control over his body to test out his reflexes. They set up obstacle courses to test out their strength and speed. With the infused body, they could jump around 25 feet high and could run about 40 miles an hour. They could lift around 400 pounds and with four arms they could basically swing from tree to tree like a monkey while also fighting giving them excellent mobility in the forest.

They were one of the same in mind and body when they decided it was time to move on to another planet. Razack was looking forward to traveling with Omega since he had so many amazing adventures.

After finishing their daily meditation, they headed over to the village to break the news that they were moving on. As they were walking to the village, they admired the beauty of the forest and the animals inhabiting it for the last time. They listened to the soft breeze blowing through the forest producing a serene whistling sound clearing any troubled minds. The sharp chirps of the birds could be heard off in the distance and light rustling of bushes signifying hidden animals from view.

They stepped out into the bustling village with elves going about their daily business. Clanking of iron came from the forges, sweet humming could be heard by the housewives, the slicing of reeds could be heard in the farming area, and screams and shouts of joy could be heard from the small children playing their different games. Omega was surprised that his hearing, sight, and smell increased substantially when they combined. He asked Razack if he had any advanced senses but he said the only sense he knew was better in his old body was sight. So, they concluded that their senses were added to each other and was a permanent change in both bodies instead of just the combined body.

The children spotted Omega walking up the path and instantly stopped what they were doing and sprinted towards him with them yelling, "Omega, Omega, Omega!" They all tackled him and soon arms, legs, and bodies becoming indistinguishable in a solid mass of people. They all chuckled as they got off each other and played for the next two hours.

As dinner time came around, everyone stopped what they were doing and congregated at the dining area. The food was served and everybody instantly dug in. Omega held a few conversations but his mind was focused on trying to figure out how to break the news. He didn't want them to feel like he was leaving because of them. So he definitely had to make that point perfectly clear. After thinking for a while and consulting his companion, he just decided to wing it and see how it went.

As dinner was coming to an end, he asked the elven elders if he could have a word after dinner was over. They gave him some inquisitive looks but agreed nonetheless. Once it ended, everyone split off going back to their jobs while Omega and the elders went inside to the main building.

There were eight elders in the village and each one had a seat along a U shaped table with Omega standing in the middle. Each one of the elders left no doubt that they were elderly with their slightly saggy skin and paler bodies but their eyes were what really gave away their age. They contained a calculating glint that showed many years of experience and wisdom.

The head elder cleared his throat and said, "Omega, what is it you wish to speak to us about?" It was unlike Omega to call a meeting with just the elders. This made some of the elders a little nervous as to why this may be happening.

Omega spoke up, "I came to inform you that I am leaving today to continue on my journey. I usually give myself a year on each planet but I personally enjoyed spending time with your village so I stayed an extra year. However, it is time for me to move on so I wanted to inform you that I shall be leaving." Omega was pretty sure that came out alright. He made sure that they knew he enjoyed staying with them and said he was leaving in a respectable manner.

The elders stared at Omega surprised at the sudden declaration. They enjoyed having Omega around not only because he was an incredible fighter and provided protection to the people, but also his social interaction with the villagers. He helped with any chore or skill the villagers needed assistance with and he was excellent with the children. However, they knew they couldn't convince him to stay. And according to what he said, he stayed with them longer than usual because he enjoyed spending time with them. That brought small smiles to the elders' faces and they all nodded their heads in acceptance.

The head elder sighed and said, "Thank you for telling us. Of course we wish you would stay but we will accept your wishes. Thanks again for staying with us and helping out. Especially with our monster problem. We can finally rest in peace knowing the threat is gone." All the elders nodded their heads especially at the last statement. They were relieved to not have to worry about that monster attacking their village because they had no idea how much damage it could have done before it was subdued.

While they were being relieved, Omega was laughing at Razack and his grumbling of how he was never going to hurt any of them even though they attacked him. Omega spoke up, "It was no problem. One of the reasons I travel from planet to planet is to find these challenges. It was an excellent battle and it is always an honor to face someone with exceptional skill. And I too wish I could stay but it is time for me to move on. The next village I visit may have a problem that they need help with and I could be the only one to accomplish it. Who knows?"

The elders nodded their heads thankful that Omega helped them and agreed that others probably would have problems Omega could help with. The elder gave a huge sigh and said, "Thank you for staying with us an extra year and I'm glad that you enjoyed yourself. Feel free to come back whenever you wish because the doors will always be open to you. I bid you farewell and a safe journey." All the elders stood and gave a slight bow of thanks to Omega. Omega returned the bow saying, "It was an honor getting to know your people. I have learned much and I will treasure this knowledge. I hope to see you guys again, the future is always a mystery."

With another bow, Omega left the building and strolled over to the Layla's building. As he entered, he saw one of the elven women cleaning up in the kitchen and he could hear the children playing upstairs. Omega nodded his head in greeting to the woman and headed up the stairs to have one of the most difficult conversations he would probably ever have. Ranking up there with saying goodbye to his daughter.

Layla and Omega basically became brother and sister over the past two years and he knew it would break her heart for him to leave. Of course, he didn't want to just leave her but he made a promise to help the people of the galaxy so he couldn't just settle down. Omega stopped in front of the children's room and gathered his thoughts. He raised his hand and knocked on the door.

The children quieted down and he heard some scuffling which probably meant they were cleaning up a little bit thinking it was the matron at the door. The door opened revealing a boy around 15 and big smile appeared on his face when he saw it was Omega.

The children adored Omega. He came up with many new games which became instant favorites of the group and he even helped them with their vine whips with concentration drills. He always played with them whenever they asked and he always had this mysterious factor to him that always stayed on the children's minds.

The boy opened the door wider and yelled in elvish, "Omega is here!" In Omega's first year on Jython, he learned the elven language and by the second year, he was fluent in it. Right when Layla heard Omega, her head shot up and a big smile was plastered on her face. She instantly got up and ran to Omega giving him a bear hug that would rival a grizzly bear.

Omega smiled down at Layla and said, "I need to talk with you." He didn't let any of his voice give away his sadness so she instantly agreed and yelled to her friends that she would be right back. They walked into a room next door and Omega sat down with Layla sitting down next to him.

Omega sighed gathering his thoughts that just wouldn't come to him. Layla's smile dropped a little bit when she could tell the conversation they were about to have wouldn't be a good one. Omega looked into Layla's beautiful eyes and wished he didn't have to make himself go.

Omega gave a small smile and said, "Layla, I came to tell you I am leaving today to start my journey again. I usually only stay on a planet one year and switch after the year is up. However, I enjoyed spending time with you and the other villagers and I decided to stay another year. However, it's time for me to keep moving and switch to another planet. I just want you to know that you are my sister in all but blood and I wouldn't have it any other way." By the time Omega finished, Layla was in tears. She quickly ran over to Omega and gave him a solid hug like it was her lifeline. She said through her tears, "But ... I don't ... want you ... to go." Her voice was muffled with her face in his collarbone but Omega could still hear it.

Omega sighed and returned the hug just as much while also rubbing smooth circles on her back. They sat like that for a couple of minutes until Layla's tears turned into sniffles. Omega said, "I'm sorry I have to go but I promised my father I would protect anyone who needs help in the galaxy. I have helped your village with your problem and now I need to go help other villages. I will never forget you and you will always hold a place in my heart. And who knows? Maybe we will see each other again in the future. Fate is a funny thing and it has already intertwined us together. I doubt it will sever our bond. Have faith that we will see each other again. We both live long lives so I'm not going anywhere anytime soon and neither are you. We have many years to get back in touch."

Layla slowly lifted her head and looked into Omega's eyes. She saw the truth in his statement and gave a small smile. "Alright. Then we don't have to say goodbye. Just ... See you later." Omega chuckled at that which also made Layla laugh too. Omega wanted this moment to last forever but knew it had to end sometime. However, he wanted to give one last gift to Layla.

"Layla," Omega waited to she had her focus back on him. "You can take off my mask." There was silence for a moment before she whispered, "Really?" Layla's heart was pumping a million miles an hour. No one had ever seen Omega without his mask. She knew this was a big deal and if he was willing to show her, then that meant he trusted her. She slowly raised her arms and traced her fingers over the swirls on the mask. When she got to the edge, she cupped her fingers along the edge and slowly lifted the mask off his face.

What she saw was the most beautiful and sad thing she had ever seen. Omega's face was the epitome of a perfect face. He had defined cheekbones but still had a little plumpness to them. His nose was straight but rounded at the end and his lips were what someone would see on a model. He had black shaggy hair that looked like a bird's nest while also looking like a hair style. His eyes were still the most captivating sight she had ever seen. The constant moving sea green with the orange and grey flecks reminded her of the ocean with one million fireflies flying just above the water. There was now also a blue ring around the edge of the sea green like an ocean horizon. It appeared after Omega fought the monster but no one really asked about it in case it offended Omega in any way. They didn't want to point out what Omega may consider a flaw when he had done so much for them.

However, the sad part about his face were the scars. There were three scars running across his face. One started at the center of his forehead and veered down to the left and across his eye down to the bottom of his cheekbone. Another was on his right cheekbone that started at the top right of his cheekbone and veered right to the bottom of it. The third one started at the bottom on the right side of his jaw angling towards his mouth and almost reached his lips.

Layla stared for a little bit surprised at what she saw. She knew he was an excellent fighter but she wondered if the price of his fights was worth getting these scars. However, the one on his cheekbone looked slightly jagged like someone held him down and slice his cheekbone. She hoped it wasn't the case but knew it was entirely possible with that kind of work. After looking into his eyes and seeing uncertainty in them, she smiled and cupped her hand on his cheek. She chuckled then said, "You have a very handsome face ... You know ... the scars actually make you look manly."

Omega chuckled out loud at that. "Thanks." He didn't know how she would respond to the scars or if she would ask about them. He was quite proud of her response. She first commented about his face under the scars and then made the famous comment about scars making someone look manlier. Omega guessed he did agree with that statement which made him chuckle a little more. He smiled a genuine smile that took Layla's breath away and said, "This will be our little secret."

She caught on to underlying request and put his mask back on. She gave her big brother a hug and said, "And I will gladly keep it for you." She would keep the secret with her until her dying breath. This secret was something only her and Omega shared and she would treasure the knowledge and the privilege to know what he looked like under the mask. He raised up his hood as his mask was put back on his face and she already missed looking at his beautiful face. They hugged for a little while longer until she got up with Omega getting up after her.

They looked at each other with small smiles on their faces until Layla said, "So ... I guess I'll see you later." Omega was relieved it wasn't put as a question. She was confident that he would return to her and he couldn't be more proud. "See you later, sister." She gave him one last 'see you later' hug and left the room. Omega stood there for a little bit already missing her but quickly shook himself out of his thoughts.

He would see her again so there wasn't anything to worry about. It would be the same with Sylvia. He would see his daughter again and they would be able to spend some time together just like old times. With that thought in Omega's head, he walked out of the building into the dark village. Everyone was already in their homes preparing for bed leaving the town square completely empty. An idea struck Omega and he quickly went into the middle of the square. He got into a meditating position and concentrated on the stream flowing off to the side of the village. He willed a good bit of water over to the middle of the square and got to work.

After he was done, he inspected his work and approved wholeheartedly. He looked around to make sure no one was watching him and quickly slipped into the forest. He made his way back over to his camping spot where he first arrived on the planet two years ago. He remembered the sweet little elven girl just walking up on him and how they became fast friends. He couldn't have been any luckier even if he had tried.

He looked around one more time to make sure he had everything packed and ready to go. He looked up at the twinkling stars that shined brighter than most nights since there was only a crescent moon and little light to diminish the stars beauty. There were a few rustles from the small animals and nocturnal animals hunting them. But other than that, it was a quiet, peaceful night which made for a perfect departing scene. He cast one last look at the trees toward the village and said, "I'll be back one day." Omega could hear Razack hum in agreement letting Omega enjoy the last moments on Jython before he mist traveled back to Vinesta.

~~~Morning~~~

Layla woke early the next morning in a sad but content mood. She knew she would miss Omega but she would wait for him to return. She had no doubt he would come back to visit and put her faith in that.

She wasn't able to go back to sleep so she swung her feet off the bed and walked over to put on her day clothes. The cold floor sending chills up her body made her quickly put on some silk shoes before heading downstairs. She grabbed a quick snack wanting to sit outside and enjoy the quiet before the village woke up and the sounds of the day begin again.

She silently opened the door as to not wake up anyone and started walking over to a bench in the town square. The first rays of sun started to peek over the trees lighting up the entire town square. She walked over to the bench with her eyes closed enjoying the quietness of the village, using just her memory to find her way. As she neared the bench, she opened her eyes as to not trip and fall and settled on the slightly cold wood. She sighed in contentment remembering all the fun Omega and her had and already missed him.

Her eyes roamed the village that she grew up in and could navigate through with her eyes closed. However, something was different this time and her eyes widened when she looked in the middle of the town. She slowly got up and strode over to the new addition that was not there yesterday. She stopped in front of it and admired the beauty it held and she knew why it was here. It was a parting gift from Omega as a thank you for them accepting him and a reminder of him.

As the village slowly started to wake up, people made their way out of their homes and every one of them stopped at their doors when they noticed the new addition before making their way over next to Layla. Soon, the entire village surrounded the parting gift and were held in awe with its beauty. The elders were the last to make their way to the gift and looked upon it with gratitude. The head elder said, "Thank you, Omega."

In the middle of the square was an ice sculpture that showed the strength of the village. The ice sculpture was composed of five elves. The two on the edges were guards for the village looking strong and regal in their full body with drawn weapons. Their eyes looking to be assessing the village for any dangers with weapons ready in case of an attack. In between them were three villagers. The three in the middle represented different villager aspects.

The one on the right was a blacksmith with a raised hammer in his hand beating on an ice sword laying on an anvil. There were a few other intricate weapons around the blacksmith including another sword, a shield, bow and arrows, and even some farming equipment. The anvil had intertwining small vines growing on the side with leaves imprinted on it.

The one on the left and middle were a mother and daughter who were smiling, holding hands and singing to the plants around them. There were a few musical notes on their silk clothes and the vines swirled around their legs and all around the platform they all stood on. The child had a toy made of vines in her hand and every villager knew the significance of it. It was a toy made by Omega during his stay and became an instant hit with the children.

The villagers looked on in awe at the gift Omega left for them. While most didn't know this was a parting gift, they could tell this gift had meaning behind it. The ones who did know Omega was gone closed their eyes and sent a mental 'thank you' for the gift. After Layla finished admiring the statue, tears of joy rained down on her cheeks. The daughter in the middle was a perfect representation of her smiling and singing with all the joy of the world. It showed her joy Omega always brought out of her and it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. After wiping some of her tears, she started singing in an angelic voice filled with all her emotions consisting of joy, happiness, and gratification. Soon, all the villagers were singing their thanks and the surrounding forest vibrated with the energy of all the villagers voices combined. The animals stopped their activities to listen to the serenading voices of the villagers that captivated them to stillness.

For the next ten minutes, the village and the surrounding area was one of tranquil peace with everything being caught up in the beautiful voices of the villagers. Even after the singing slowly came to a stop, the villagers still stood there admiring the ice sculpture made by someone who captured the hearts of all the villagers with his carefree attitude but also his protective nature. They knew they were safe with him around reminding them of their strength. And with this intricate and beautiful sculpture, they would always reminder the strength of the village and the unity of the village that provides that strength. They all mentally thanked Omega for the gift they would treasure forever and would always remember him for what he did for them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
 _*For information sake, Omega is now 6'2" after bonding with Razack_  
How'd you like it? Just because I know questions will pop up, I will relieve your fears, if you have any. The story will continue within this book so you don't have to worry about finding a sequel or anything.

The next major event to happen to Omega will be Chaos finding him. How? I guess you'll just have to wait and see ;) Also, I won't be answering questions on what will be happening while he is in the army or anything. I have already been asked a surprisingly good bit about it and I don't want to give away major points or be forced to follow them since I said I would do it.

Well, that's about it. Have a great New Year!

10,850/130,000 (This was so not planned to be a perfect number ... I guess I'm just that awesome XD)


	25. Finally Found

Heyo! Here's another chapter and one I'm pretty sure you've all been waiting for XD I'll keep this AN short so you can enjoy the story ;)

One thing I want to make note of is that there will be some magic in this story but it won't have a major part in it. For example, some items Omega and others may have are rarer than rare so they won't be too common. I say this because I don't want anyone thinking this is turning into a story where having the most powerful magic items is better than natural skill or anything. If you have any questions feel free to PM me and I'll be sure to clarify anything for you.

Without further ado, I'll let you guys enjoy the story!

Some years later, Omega was pretty sure he just passed his 126th birthday, Omega could be found in his hidden home on Vinesta deep in thought. His chin rested on his steepled hands and he let out a weary sigh. The last planet he visited wasn't anything noteworthy but he definitely learned some disturbing news from the tourists.

Apparently, since the 'Savior' hadn't been seen in over 50 years, villainous individuals and groups were starting to pop up and take back control over various planets. Coincidently, this had been happening for the past ten years without Omega knowing. He had felt like going on a treasure hunt again and was pretty much inaccessible down in the deep ruins he transversed.

One treasure he remembered searching for was a necklace imbued with protection magic in a great labyrinth. He spent almost an entire year constantly searching and mapping the layout of the maze. It had many similar features to Daedalus' labyrinth but was at least ten times as large with much more complicated traps. He even had to mist travel out of a few close calls because of how utterly impossible it was to get past some of the traps.

Happy with his catch and in a pretty good mood, he returned to his yearly dart throwing. However, when he finally reconnected with the universe, he came across this disturbing news. His first instinct was to immediately show that the Savior was still very much alive and kicking but he needed to also think about the consequences.

One reason was that technology could have advanced very much. He had a very high suspicion that scientists had been testing how he committed his assassinations. He didn't know if they created anything to impede or possible harm him while on the job so it was better to be safe than sorry.

The more major concern he had though was that he knew Chaos would start actively looking for him again at the first hint the Savior was back again. Omega hadn't seen or heard of a search party ever since he quit being an assassin so he assumed Chaos was just waiting for him to pick it back up.

However, Omega knew what he would do even if the odds stacked against him. He swore to his father to protect the galaxy and that was what he was going to do. He lifted his head out of his hands and got up with determination in his eyes.

He gathered his needed things and trinkets he acquired over the years before heading out. Honestly, he could barely comprehend how powerful he was when he was fully decked out.

He had on three small necklaces that he always kept on. The first was his fathers that almost never came off. Another he retrieved from the labyrinth. It was had a small, silver beaded chain with a pendant of a circle containing a purple lightning bolt. Between the bolt and the circle was empty space with electrical currents bouncing between them. It increased resistance to electricity and also was able to produce an invisible layer of shock magic around his body for a limited time. While it was active, any enemy that made contact with him, whether through a sword or fist, would have an electrical current shot through them. He couldn't even begin to comprehend the advantage that gave him over opponents.

His last necklace he acquired after saving some rock type beings' village. They were so very grateful ... like on their knees bowing grateful ... very embarrassing ... and felt he deserved a reward. This one had a brown, unbreakable string with a grey spiral pendant. It had some sunken, dotted parts with raised designs and pointed tips. The necklace he was given was able to harden his skin to make his skin impenetrable. It would only last a minute and he would still feel the blunt force of an attack but nothing would be able to pierce him. Once again, an impressive magic item.

He also switched out his cloth wrappings with ones woven with magic by some old spell caster he met, and like usual, helped out. It was intention based so he could turn it on and off with a thought. It prevented any sound being produced by his movements whether he was running or swinging his sword. However, if he hit a bell, that would be different. The initial contact wouldn't make a sound but the centerpiece would still make a noise if it hit the edge. Basically, anything that happened after he made contact was fair game for noise. It has proven very resourceful throughout his journey, and he knew it would provide an invaluable assets on assassination jobs.

He also had a tattoo magically inked onto his right arm. Inside a circle was a simple looking tattoo of a masquerade mask that covered the whole face. Since the purpose was to hide his true identity, it was invisible to the naked eye and magical detection devices and imbued with appearance magic. Once activated, it basically changed his body to fit a set image Omega made.

The skin color was set to the same grey skin of his father and Razack and a few facial features were also changed. Overall, his stature was barely changed, and he mainly used the tattoo to hide him being human. It also covered his ice arm and made it have the texture of skin so no one would be able to tell that there was a difference. Once activated it would stay 'on' in a sense until he deactivated it. He could have used it to change more of his appearance but if he altered anything else then it would have reacquired too much magic and give it a timer to recharge.

All in all, the items combined with his powers and combat prowess, he couldn't help but admire how far he had come since he left Earth. Now, all he had to do was apply himself and help the people of the galaxy and that was exactly what he was planning to do.

Located on the first planet to be created, Zaron, was a council room filled with information specialists gathered around an oval table with scattered, detailed maps and sheets filled with intricate details about the goings on in the galaxy. On the walls were more maps and specialists writing on a digitized board, silently debating certain benefits on the planet of Berog. More creatures and various other beings were crowded around the room doing their various jobs. However, one stood out from the rest.

He was a man that looked to be around his mid-thirties to forties with a muscular but lean body. His sharp features could be compared to marble sculptures with slight stubble around his jaw. His sun-kissed skin stood in sharp contrast to his bottomless black eyes. If someone were to look close, they could see the black mass swirl in the form of a whirlpool, sucking up everything and leaving nothing behind. However, many did not have to worry about that because meeting the Supreme Being's eyes for any long period of time was nigh impossible. This powerful being was none other than the creator of the universe, Chaos.

Ever since he created his army, Chaos had used his spy network to help keep the galaxy as safe as possible without getting too involved. However, an unknown factor entered his sights 50 years ago and had yet to leave his mind. This Omega, or Savior as the people knew him as, was an enigma in and of himself. While so far he had done good deeds and in general helped the people of the galaxy, there was no telling what he would do in the future without figuring out what type of character he was.

So, after his almost meeting with the elusive Savior, he gathered some of his top spies and put them on the case of finding him. Chaos didn't know if they would be able to find him or not but he would have smacked himself later if he never tried. Nonetheless, he had slight doubts on their ability to find him. Not to say they weren't the best of the best but even looking for Omega himself didn't produce any results. And when he finally found him, he underestimated him and Omega vanished without a trace. His method of transportation was still unknown to him so he couldn't even track it or prepare a counter measure!

Chaos knew that Omega would go into hiding for a while or at least be more inconspicuous with his assassinations which would make it impossible for them to find the victims. They definitely wouldn't be able to predict any of his movements anymore since he'd be even more unpredictable.

Chaos sighed and looked over various reports until he saw the next one was about his current train of thought. He looked up to the head spy of division 7 and asked him to verbally state his report since he had already read too many of them.

"All of the assigned spies have done their best to gain any information about Omega or the Savior and so far there haven't been any sightings of someone calling himself that. Since we don't know what he looks like that is all we have to go on. We thought we heard a hint about him on planet Damia but when we looked into it, it turned out not to be him. Other than that we have no other leads but we will keep on the lookout."

Chaos simply nodded expecting that answer. However, against his will, his lips twitched into the beginnings of a smile. He had never had such a challenge of finding someone ever since he created his army and he was enjoying the chase. His unit brought a couple of ideas about his absence such as age forcing him to quit but Chaos knew better. He didn't know what Omega was but he had high suspicions that it was a long life race.

Chaos was brought out of his musings when the door was slammed open and crashed against the wall. He calmly looked behind him knowing there wasn't a threat but curious as to what caused one of his subordinates to act that way.

He was met with one of the spies assigned to finding Omega with a shit-eating, triumphant grin that bordered on madness. Chaos was honestly surprised. He had never seen any of his spies show so much emotion before and an excited feeling was welling up inside him.

He was about to ask for a report but was, surprisingly, ignored as he dashed to the big screen, pushing two others out of his way. He, of course, disregarded their grumblings but everyone was now extremely curious as to what intel he had.

He inserted a flash drive and typed for a few seconds before an image popped up on the screen. It turned out to be Lord Jarjurag, slave trader and dictator of three planets, leaning back into his seat. However, it took no time at all to see that he wasn't leaning back in his seat resting; he was actually dead and the muscles that held him up straight no longer worked.

Even more noteworthy though was located at his forehead. The clear cause of death was a knife wound to the head judging by the thin trail of blood sliding off his face but even that wasn't important. What was significant was the symbol around the knife wound.

A slow smirk grew on Chaos' face as excited whispers spread throughout the room. Everyone knew what that symbol meant and they all were thrilled at the new information. Chaos was lost in his thoughts and what happy thoughts they were!

He was silently cheering in his head. He knew Omega wouldn't stay in the shadows for long and he was proven right. He also highly doubted the 'Savior' would stop now that he started. Omega would just be much more careful this time, so their work was still cut out for them.

The group he assigned to Omega's case was gathered around him discussing plans and possible next targets but Chaos was still lost in his reverie. The smirk was fully plastered on his face for all to see and he had one last thought before debating different plans with his sneaky soldiers. He mentally chuckled and thought, ' _You won't escape me this time.'_

~~~22 years later~~~

Omega could be found cleaning his knife after another completed job. This last tyrant deserved the little extra torture he had given him for what he found in the room. Let's just say what he found he never wanted to see again and leave it at that.

He knew Chaos or any of his spies would have never guessed this guy was his next target so he perused the office for anything interesting or noteworthy. He found a couple books to add to his collection and of course emptied out the money in the room.

However, he froze stiff as he was leafing through the papers on the desk. According to this report, an army was headed to the planet Zaron to subjugate a few cities and take over parts of the planet. The name of the planet sounded faintly familiar but he didn't stop long enough to think about it because the ship carrying the soldiers was going to land in a day's time! He quickly packed and gathered all his things before hastily making his way over to Zaron.

It took him around three days to get there since he never really went around the center of the galaxy. He blamed his dizzy aiming but who knew?

He materialized in one of the smaller cities in between two stores. The dark shadows hiding him from view, and he soon became very grateful for that when he saw the lord's soldiers patrolling around. Apparently they already took complete control over the city.

He inched his way forward to look around and almost gaped at the amount of soldiers in the streets. There were many tank like machines around a ten story building which must have been the center of the city. Just his luck to pop up in the middle of everything.

His attention was soon drawn to the citizens who were being herded into one area and chained along the perimeter of the building. This confused him for a moment before it made perfect sense. If innocents were under the building then anyone who tried to take back the city couldn't just destroy the building and most likely take out the head commanders.

Even though Omega was disgusted by their tactics, he couldn't help but give them props. If he was someone who treated people as insignificant masses then he would have done the same thing.

He immediately focused and tried to think of some plan to neutralize all of the soldiers without getting too involved or at least pass by without being seen. However, no plan came to mind that he wouldn't be seen with and he didn't want to wipe out everyone using his abilities. Even though the situation wasn't looking too good, he didn't like using his abilities to effortlessly fix a situation. He knew what it felt like to be so overwhelmed that there wasn't even a point in trying and he didn't want anyone to feel like that, even enemies. Anyway, if a situation ever presented itself where he couldn't use his powers then experiences such as these were handy to fall back on.

Of course, if they started killing innocent people then he would step up and massacre them but as long as they were taking over the city without killing anyone then he would at least not wipe them out instantly.

He was about to mist travel to get to a different vantage point when a commotion started up further down the street. All of the soldiers on the street jumped into action, running closer to the action to fight off whoever was attacking.

Omega shrugged and wished whoever was taking back the city luck and thanks for taking away the soldiers' attention from the big building.

He stealthily made his way to the glass window, ten story building and entered the door on the east side undetected. He looked around and was surprised not to see anyone guarding the doors. He assumed they thought no one could get past them and he just shook his head. Even if there were soldiers in the building, having some stationed at the entrances would have been smart so they could have raised the alarm.

Omega sighed at their lack of attentiveness but kept moving forward. He didn't even see any video cameras either so they really must have had faith in their soldiers outside.

As he made his way through the building, it became pretty clear that it would be impossible for Omega to find where the leader's hideout was before the enemies' enemy army broke through and stormed the building.

So, he casually walked through the halls and slowly made his way to the top.

The first guard he came across was on the third floor watching a monitor behind a receptionist desk. Omega wanted to bang his head at these people. The guard wasn't even facing towards the stairs!

He quietly made his way up to the desk and coughed roughly to gain the guard's attention. Omega saw him tense and prepare to grab his gun but Omega spoke before he could.

He gained an authoritative and no nonsense tone saying, "Lord Jarjurag wishes a report on the situation. From what I gathered it looks like this city has been taken care of but he wishes to be given the details. He sent me to help where needed and report back as soon as possible. Where is the commander of this operation?"

Omega inwardly laughed at the guard's stiffened shoulders when he mentioned the lord and knew that he believed him immediately. He rolled his eyes once again at why the guards were so incompetent. Hopefully the ones guarding the commander had more sense than this one.

The guard straightened his back and said, "He is planning the next attack on the ninth floor in department wing C." Omega nodded curtly and walked back towards the stairs. Just to save time, he mist traveled all the up to the ninth floor and swung the door open silently.

He was met with multiple pair of eyes zeroing in on him and everything stilled. Omega could immediately tell he wouldn't be able to fool these guards judging by their hard look and quick action to retrieve their guns.

Everything slowed down to Omega as adrenaline kicked into gear. He shot forward to the nearest guard drawing his sword on his hip and as he neared the guard, he formed small ice daggers and propelled them to the guards in the back.

Three seconds later there were two guards split in half and another three melting ice sickles in their chests. Omega stood there silently for a second before continuing down the hall. He had a tyrant to kill.

Omega stood in front two dead guards and another deceased commander. Finding the room was actually challenging considering no one wanted to give him directions. Soon, though, he eventually found wing C and their base of operations.

He decided not to claim these kills even though it would probably confuse and distract his trackers. It would also scare a lot more people since his target base would be seen as growing.

He looked around the room once more to make sure he wasn't forgetting something before leaving. He turned around and instantly froze in shock. There, standing in front of him was one of the last people he wanted to run into.

Lazily leaning on the door frame was Chaos with a flat out smirk on his face. All Omega could do was inwardly groan and curse his luck his life.

This morning, Chaos had no idea of the upcoming events to take place on his home planet. So when he got a report saying someone dared to attack the cities on planet, he was understandably in quite an awful mood. Of course, he dispatched one of his units to take care of the problem and even decided to go there himself to intimidate the opposing army.

All in all, his mood wasn't the best at the moment and he took some enjoyment watching his trained soldiers work as a unit to eliminate the enemy. However, it saddened him to see some of his soldiers fall in battle. There was nothing he could do for them but provide them with the best training possible. It was forbidden for him to directly interfere in mortal affairs and he completely agreed that it was a necessary rule.

Chaos sighed and decided to help fix his sour mood by seeing how the leader of the invasion force was taking the imminent defeat. It was pretty obvious, at least to him, that his army would win today.

He flashed up to the ninth floor where he sensed the most energy and stopped in his tracks at what greeted him.

Chaos' eyebrow rose as he surveyed the area filled with multiple bodies that lay broken and bloodied throughout the hall. His interest was definitely peaked.

Apparently someone else was fighting the lord and got past an entire army to try and take out the commander. And judging by what was left in its wake he doubted the commander would last long, if he wasn't already dead.

He calmly strolled down the hallway following the trail of bodies until he reached the cracked doors where he could tell the main office was. He listened until he heard light shuffling of papers which brought a smile to his face. The lone warrior was apparently still at the crime scene.

Chaos pushed open the door quietly as to not give himself away and prepared to give whoever it was his congrats and possibly offer him a position in the army.

When he saw who was shifting through the papers, he couldn't help but stop and stare in shock. His many years of searching diligently for the Savior made him want to laugh at himself for his efforts.

Who knew that he would just happen upon his current interest!

A smirk found its way onto his face as he crossed his arms and leaned against the doorway. He wouldn't allow this slippery being to get away from him this time and he knew his ranks were about to gain a new member. Whether willingly or not was yet to be seen.

It only took a minute before Omega turned around and spotted him, and Chaos inwardly burst out in cackles at the obvious deer caught in headlights posture. He longed to see that expression under the mask but he would just have to wait to cause another major surprise.

They stood in silence for a whole minute as Omega obviously adjusted to the situation he found himself in. However, Chaos was not expecting the simple greeting he received.

"Hey," Omega said. He still sounded a little chocked but obviously recovered enough for conversation. That one word response actually threw Chaos off a little bit. Luckily, Omega continued before he probably said something as stupid as that.

"Didn't expect to see you here." Chaos just smirked and responded in a tone someone would take with a child, "Well, it is my home planet." The mask blocked Omega's expression again, it was definitely coming off soon, but he thought he could see the 'oh' comprehension of dawning understanding. Apparently Omega didn't think before coming to Zaron.

Omega nodded and said, "Well, it was nice talking to you but I really ought to get going." Chaos watched as he half-heartedly tried to express his desire to walk out but it looked like he resigned himself to the situation.

"Oh, but we really haven't got to talk before and I have always wondered what talking to you was like. Were you a big softie deep down that covers it with these deadly assassinations or were you a cruel bastard that assassinated these men to be the one to rule the universe. Who knew?" He smirked again and he knew he would be doing that many more times. His mood had skyrocketed once he saw Omega standing there and he bet it would take the destruction of a planet to even put a dent in his good attitude.

Omega responded with a barely hidden sigh. "It was worth a try, at least. So, what do you want to talk about?"

' _So that's how it's going to go_ ,' Chaos thought. Apparently the importance and drastic changes that could possibly happen in this conversation are being pushed to the side. Chaos was starting to like the Savior more and more.

"First off I want to see your face. It feels wrong talking to a mask and I think it's common courtesy to be more open than this." Chaos made sure to have a superior air to see how Omega would take a demand, no matter how nonchalant it was.

Luckily, and surprisingly, Omega shrugged and lowered his hood, taking the mask off with it. Chaos intently studied him to try and deduce what race he was. He had the same grey skin as the crustaceous race but his physique couldn't be narrowed down too much. The blue stripe in his hair didn't look natural so he most likely had all black hair originally and, once again, impossible to narrow down. So Omega was most likely a mix between a crustacean and an unknown.

Chaos inwardly shrugged knowing he would most likely only find out by asking and doubted he would retrieve an answer.

His facial features reminded him of chiseled stone, sort of like his own, but with a softer chin. He had three scars running across his face and he wondered how he got those. They almost looked carved into his face but he had to admit that they added a certain edge to Omega. However, his eyes were what stood out the most. Sea green eyes with little yellow and grey dots were floating around inside. All of this was surrounded by a light blue strip that just made the dark depths of the sea green stand out even more. Definitely unique and must have resulted in a rare mix or something.

He nodded in thanks before continuing the interesting discussion. "It nice to meet you Omega." Chaos saw an eyebrow twitch and smirked knowing he surprised him again by saying his name. "You know you are one hard person to catch, but it seems fate has brought us together." He said this in a dramatic air to see his reaction.

Chaos knew he was testing Omega on how he responded to different stimuli and he bet Omega knew too judging by his slightly raised eyebrow.

"Honestly I think it was just my usual amount of luck." And there was that witty comeback. Yep, it was official. Omega was going to join his army whether he like it or not. Though, it might be more entertaining if he resisted anyway.

His witty remarks and most probable resistance to his orders would make life much more interesting. Everyone was afraid of him to some point or too respectful to talk back, but it seems Omega was on his own in that regard. Even when he looked closely it didn't seem like Omega was hiding fear. He genuinely didn't fear him. Not even wary of his power! Oh yes, this was going to fun.

"Back to the earlier topic, I'm curious on your motives for these assassinations. Don't get me wrong, I definitely thank you for getting rid of them, just curious."

Chaos could immediately tell it was some personal reason judging by the now slightly standoffish air Omega was emitting.

"I think you'll be happy to know that I chose to become an assassin because of a promise I made to someone I deeply care about. I pledged to help the people of the galaxy and to help and care for those that are in need."

He ended a little abruptly and he didn't necessarily say if he enjoyed taking justice or not. Either way, Chaos could tell he was committed and wasn't lying.

Chaos nodded his head pleased and came up with a little plan. "Hmm, a noble goal I would say. I actually set up an army as a way to help the people of the galaxy since I'm not supposed to directly interfere in mortal affairs." Chaos looked back at Omega with a calculating gaze. Inwardly he knew he was going to offer Omega a spot in the army but he still needed to really think about this.

He knew virtually nothing about Omega. He may work as an assassin because he doesn't work well with others which could pose a problem. However, the way Omega spoke to him made it seem like that wouldn't be a problem. But, once again, he hadn't seen Omega angry or frustrated.

Usually, he wouldn't think about it this hard and just recruit anybody who showed promise but Omega was different. He was a complete unknown and an exceedingly powerful one too. To escape Chaos and his entire spy network for even more than a year was quite noteworthy.

Anyway, he already made his decision. He would just have to keep a close eye on him until he deemed Omega safe enough around his troops.

After a slight pause, he piggybacked off his earlier phrase. "Two weeks from now there is an event I'm hosting to recruit new members in my army. It happens every year and people all across the galaxy compete to join. I believe you would enjoy the competition and different experiences. Of course, I would like you to help the galaxy with me too. So, what do you say?"

There, hopefully Omega liked blunt statements and honesty because that's what he gave. He would prefer for Omega to join so he could learn more about him too but if not he would find another way.

However, it looked like Omega was silently contemplating the offer. Chaos' hope rose. Having someone like Omega in his army would definitely produce results. He highly doubted Omega was just good at assassinations so he was looking forward to what skills he possessed.

Omega took a breath before replying, "I guess I can attend. However, I won't be forced to join will I?"

' _Damn it_ ,' Chaos thought. Chaos knew he was being tested but he really wanted him to join. And no matter how much he wanted to just force Omega, it wouldn't work out in the long run, which Chaos was most looking forward to.

Chaos sighed and said, "No, I will not force you on the matter. However, don't expect me to just sit back and not try and convince you. By the end of the day I bet you'll be begging me to join." Add a little humor in there. So far it's worked like a charm and it seems Omega lightens up around people who joke around ... or Chaos was the one being played. He didn't know but he hoped it wasn't the latter.

Omega slightly smiled at Chaos and said, "I guess I'll see you then."

Chaos replied, "I look forward to it. Technically the signup had already ended but I'll put you on the roster."

Omega simply nodded his head and surprisingly put out his hand. "Machai Alewar." Well, that was random ... OHHH

Chaos simply smiled at learning another thing about Om ... Machai, returning the handshake. "Chaos."

After dropping hands and stepping out the way, Machai walked out to hopefully be seen again in two weeks. He debated watching him leave to see how he got around but decided not to. He gained a small amount of trust and he didn't delude himself that Machai was done testing him. Chaos had no clue if he could sense his energy when he wasn't trying to found.

Knowing that his army should be storming the building and heading on up, he flashed back to his room. He hoped the tentative alliance he just forged would grow to be much stronger as Machai swept through the ranks.

However, he held no delusions that Machai would make it easy on him. He wondered how much the mystery assassin would excel. He didn't have any positions open in the highest ranks but he may just open up a position if Machai showed promise ... which was highly likely.

All in all, he was looking forward to the upcoming years. Watching his current interest seemed entertaining enough.

How did you like the meeting? Next up is what you've all been waiting for! His time in the army! I can't believe we're finally there! So many exclamation points!

Anyway, I want to apologize for not posting lately. I just gained two part time jobs (One is off and on but a lot of paperwork came with it) The other takes up over 20 hours a week and I'm so busy! That's note even including schoolwork ...

Yeah, sorry for complaining but I want to make sure you guys have a reason as to why I'm not updating very often. Also, just to remind you that I'm not in any way giving up on the story. I have a general idea on how I want his army time to go but I don't even have an outline yet.

Oh, another point ;) I don't have my email notifications anymore so if you have a question you'll have to pm me. While I am extremely happy this story has gotten so popular, I can't stand having over 100 emails a day (mainly due to some lovely and random conversations taken place. I don't mind though because some are pretty entertaining.)

Umm, I think that's about it. Hope you enjoyed it and I'll see ya next update!

Word Count

Chapter/Whole Story

5,650/135,650


	26. A New Experience

Machai, as he now had to get used to calling himself, was on a spaceship heading towards Zaron. He wanted to at least look normal to other competitors even though he knew he wouldn't be able to fool Chaos. All because of that one slip up so long ago.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts and felt the shuttle land. Others on board strapped on their gear that they brought and started shuffling towards the carrier's bay doors. He had been assessing his most likely soon to be competitors, and they really looked like they wouldn't last long. Of course, there were a couple who obviously had experience but most looked new.

Machai guessed the expert or rich competitors would come on their own aircraft so he didn't put too much stock on the easiness of the upcoming competition.

As the doors slowly cracked open, allowing the sunlight to peek through, the smell of grass wafted through the ship and Machai was honestly surprised. He would have thought he would smell ... well, nothing since pavement didn't really have a smell.

He headed out with the group as they walked along a dirt pathway to a colosseum looking building. They were surrounded by grassy plains with a few trees spotted around the valley and a nice cool breeze blew past them every once in a while.

However, his calm mind ground to a halt when he noticed someone leaning against a post not 20 meters away from the ship. He, of course, looked different but Machai could tell it was Chaos by the obviously powerful aura he held. This was mainly due to experience so none of the others even had a clue as to who they were passing.

Machai sighed and decided to not be obstinate and go to Chaos. He would most likely learn a few things that most everybody else would know. So, to hopefully save later embarrassment and also appeasing the higher power here, he split off from the group and headed to the 'supreme overlord of the universe.' Machai was so going to call him that sometime.

He got a few looks from some of the group since he was obviously going to compete with them but Machai just ignored them.

He greeted Chaos with a nod of his head and a quick hello. Chaos smiled and greeted Machai too before pushing himself off the post and heading down the path with Machai.

"I'm glad you showed up," Chaos said. "I didn't know for sure you would." He looked at Machai through the corner of his eyes to see his expression. He got a small frown in return but it was quickly wiped off his face.

"Yes. While I'd prefer to stay off the radar, I would sooner or later have to do something new to not grow bored." Chaos chuckled a little bit. Grow bored doing assassinations? That was new.

Machai looked towards Chaos and said, "So, I really don't know anything about this, so you'll have to fill me in." Machai was honestly too lazy to ask around and gather information and was originally planning to just follow the crowd and wing it. Luckily, or maybe not, he met Chaos who had better give him some answers since he invited him.

Chaos raised an eyebrow before explaining how the tournament was going to go. "We have exactly 4122 contestants competing to join the army and only 1030 are being selected. This is still a tournament though so there will be a first place, second place, etc. Without interruption, this tournament should last around three days.

"After the tournament is over, the winners will be inducted into the tenth unit of the army. Do you know anything about the army's set-up?" Machai just shook his head. "Okay, so there are ten units with an elite unit comprised of ten people. As I said before, you will be inducted into the tenth unit until you prove good enough to be bumped up to the ninth unit. This can be done by proving yourself in battle, passing skill challenges, etc."

Machai didn't miss the part where Chaos basically said he was going to be inducted. Of course, Machai knew it would be a piece of cake for him to be at least in the top 50, but he wondered what Chaos would do if he got 1050th place or something. Would he force him to join? Accept the fact he didn't want to be in the army and just keep in contact? He didn't know, and he honestly wasn't going to find out since he decided he was going to join the army.

He spent at least two days thinking about the pros and cons of joining and finally decided that he needed to do something else with his life. He liked to experience new things and exciting places, and he bet he would get that on missions. If not, he'd bully Chaos into giving him some type of interesting mission.

Machai nodded his head. "So to advance you have to display enough skill in some form. I guess that would also mean each unit had less members the more you move up?"

Chaos nodded his head. "Correct, the tenth unit comprises about half the army around 10,000 soldiers and are divided into 50 groups of 200. The ninth unit is around 5,000, the eighth 2,500, seventh, ect. You basically divide by two each time and that is around how many people are in each unit."

Machai nodded and looked up towards the colosseum. It was definitely a grand structure with massive towers located around the circular building. There were archways like the colosseum in Rome but they were only on the upper levels with small balconies to look out over the area.

His attention was soon caught by what appeared to be a very large bird in his peripheral vision and turned his head towards it. He almost gasped in shock at how it was actually a person. He knew some races had wings but none of them had ones as beautiful as this person did. They looked to be as fluffy as down feathers but sturdy for quick dives. He couldn't really see much more detail from where he was, but he could still admire from this distance.

Chaos' chuckle brought his attention back down from the sky. "I see you've spotted on of my elite members. There are only ten in the unit and each are given a pair of wings to symbolize their station. They are also given a random power that is best suited towards them. Not even I know what they will get and I'm the one giving it to them!" Chaos laughed and Machai chuckled a little too.

"That is pretty cool. They must have worked hard to get to where they're at." Chaos nodded. "Yes, they started out just like everyone else and worked their way all the way up from the tenth unit. Though they definitely passed the early levels much quicker than everyone else."

Machai thought that was pretty impressive though something was nagging at him in the back of his head. "Why do you make people who are obviously skilled enough to be in the upper units start in the tenth unit?"

Chaos smiled slightly before explaining. "Each level of the army teaches you something you wouldn't have known before. You meet people who you would have never met should you have skipped the unit. The many life lessons an army member learns are thanks to the many different units and people they meet throughout their time here. That is why you have to start at the beginning."

Machai smiled a little at that and completely agreed. Machai knew he was powerful enough to be in the upper units if he showed his true abilities. Though he also knew he would miss the ones who show true work ethic but were just unable to compete with others who have a natural ability that puts them ahead of others. He would miss some of the kinder ones who gave it their all and helped others just because they could. He knew he would find some too in the upper ranks but those higher up tended to have a different mindset and different experiences than lower ranks.

They reached the colosseum archway and entered into what appeared to be a small sales area for snacks and other items someone would use to watch a game. Machai saw off to the left a door that appeared to be where the champions entered. However, he didn't really know whether Chaos wanted him to enter that way or if that was only for certain competitors.

Machai just really hoped Chaos wouldn't take him to the top box and introduce him to extremely powerful people. That would be putting a big beacon on him that he'd rather not have.

Luckily, Chaos was going to let him do this how he wanted to. "Take a right here and go down two doors until you reach the one with the plaque 1500-1750. Your number is 1622." He handed him a black, metal rectangle with gold numbers 1622. "There will be a coordinator in there to sort the competitors. I doubt you'll cause trouble but I should warn you that if you do you will be kicked out of the competition."

Machai nodded his head and raised a slightly amused eyebrow at the last part of the statement. He also added a hum that basically said, 'Oh, really? Hmm, I might have to test that out.'

Chaos gave him a wary look, and Machai bet he was thinking about whether he would cause trouble or not to get out of the competition. Or just cause trouble to see if they could catch him, which Chaos knew they wouldn't be able to.

Either way, Machai cheerfully waved goodbye and headed towards his destination. He decided that he wouldn't mind something interesting to happen and decided to act like a cheerful competitor who didn't seem to know what he was getting into. He would probably piss off someone and start a fight. However, they couldn't kick him out since he would have done nothing to instigate it and only retaliate in self-defense.

He hoped it happened so he could tell Chaos that he caused trouble without any consequences and didn't get kicked out like he said. He was looking forward to his resigned face when he realized that he actually _wanted_ Machai into his army. Machai would probably give him some quote saying 'you shouldn't play with something you don't fully understand' or something to that nature.

He strode forward with a smile plastered on his face, and he incorporated some of his excitement at this new experience into the smile to make it at least look realistic. Though, anyone who would have noticed probably wouldn't have done anything if they saw through it.

He got into line and thought about inconsequential things until he noticed that most people handed in their placards with different colors than him. Most were brown but there were some silver every once in a while ... but there weren't any blacks.

Machai narrowed his eyes and wondered what a black one meant. Did it mean something that he wouldn't like? Most likely. What did it mean though? Did it mean he was someone special that should be treated with caution or deference, or did it mean that he was a troublemaker and should watch him closely for, well trouble?

He scowled at nothing for a moment before putting his 'happy' mask back on. If it did mean he was one to cause trouble then he didn't want to add any extra wariness they may already have for him.

It was finally his turn, and he quickly handed his number over before heading inside. He didn't even want to have a chance at being asked questions, whichever side of the spectrum they came from.

Though, if he would have seen the collectors face, his answer from before would have become rather obvious. He missed the frozen, shocked look of awe from the collector and every other competitor once they saw the black and gold placard. It turned out that Machai's luck was turned on at the moment since he entered before anyone actually got a good look at him.

Machai entered a room filled with occupants, each varying in species and styles. Some had close range weapons such as swords, axes, and spears while others had a bow and throwing knives. He even saw one or two with long robes and staffs which were most likely mages.

He had only met two mages in his life and each were extremely powerful. One of them was the one who spun his cloths he had on at the moment.

He looked around the gathering crowd and saw many of them subtly sizing him up. He increased his 'smile power' and walked to one of the empty spots in the crowd next to a sneering group. He wondered what they were thinking about, but if he was honest with himself, he didn't care too much.

Many warriors and other combatants preparing for the competition mingled between each other, but almost all watched the entrance to stake out their competitors. Many could tell if there was just no chance for some, a slight chance, and a guaranteed chance.

Many were given slightest chances and rarely were any given guarantees. So, when the next one that walked in, everyone expected another slight chance competitor. What most saw with this one was different than what a few saw.

He had grey skin and was around 6'2 with a lean but muscular body. He wore skintight, stitched, black leather with wrappings on his arms going all the down to his hands, leaving his fingers exposed. Various pockets were located around his body and held mainly visible knives and who knew what other gadgets. He actually had four swords too. Two were strapped onto his waist and another two onto his back. Honestly, the two on his back could serve as a shield for his entire back and be back-up weapons if he lost his other two. Though, many would find having four swords on them cumbersome. Most scoffed at his heavy looking arsenal thinking it was way too excessive. His happy, go lucky smile only solidified their ideas.

Though, for those looking closer, he was obviously more than he seemed. His gait was smooth and fluid like a predator stalking its prey and knowing the whole time it was a guaranteed catch. That was probably what gave away that he was someone that people shouldn't mess with. Because even though he had a smile plastered on his face, his body language subtly screamed 'I will beat the living daylights out of you.'

The smarter ones put him in the guaranteed spot while the rest put him into the chance or no chance section.

Machai walked over to the sneering group and debated introducing himself. He doubted he could get them to fight since they would be kicked out, but hey, why not try even if you're not expecting it?

So, he starting walking over to the burly, heavily armed men and watched as their sneers deepened even more. Oh, he was so looking forward to this.

"Hello!" Omega said cheerily with a bright smile. He absently wondered when the last time he smiled like this was. "You looking forward to this competition? This is my first competition and I hope I make it. I've always wanted to help people and hope training under Chaos' army will help improve my skills."

Machai almost cackled at the really annoyed looks he was getting from the men and the slightly amused ones from the people beside them. Some looked at him with pity and Machai guessed they expected something to come of this. He honestly didn't think they were crazy enough to get into a fight. He just wanted to bug a few people. Life would be boring without teasing people.

"Get lost, kid." Sometimes Machai really hated his young body. "Go train for a couple more decades and then come back. Maybe then you could have a chance in the army."

Machai frowned on the outside and said in a slightly whiny tone, "But I've already trained for so long!" Over 100 years, much longer than you. HAH! "I think I'm ready to test out my skills and see what I need to improve on. I'm pretty confident I'll do well enough to be initiated into the army. What about you?"

Oh, the guy was starting to get mad. "Of course I'm going to get initiated, brat! Now, go somewhere else before I beat some sense into you." Yep, there was a snarling tone to that.

Machai put on a confused mask and didn't show any indication that he should be slightly afraid. "But were not allowed to fight before the match. Maybe we can get lucky and I'll fight you during the tournament. Then we'll see who is better." Uh-oh, he might have pushed the right button when he insinuated Machai could possibly be better.

"A little _brat_ like you couldn't **possibly** be better than me. And if you don't leave right now I'll prove it right now! It's not like the coordinators actually pay attention to what happens in here." Machai could see they were starting to gather a crowd and inwardly cackled, ready to deliver the final blow.

"Fine, fine. I'll leave." And as he turned to go, he mumbled, 'hot tempered, old person.' He deserved to be called old for calling him brat.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!" Machai turned his head back around while still walking away and smiled. "Nothing!"

"THAT'S IT!" With that he unsheathed his sword and charged at Machai. Machai was actually surprised. When Chaos asked him not to pick a fight, he didn't really think people were dumb enough to actually do it at the risk of being kicked out.

Though this guy wasn't stupid by any means, he let his emotions control his actions and that rarely leads to positive results.

Machai turned around fully and showed surprise before starting to dodge the stabs and swings coming at him. He expertly weaved his way through the attacks and was actually impressed at the skill the guy had.

He obviously had been training for a while. His sword was just too big and bulky against Machai's superior agility. And after only thirty seconds of dodging, Machai could already see a pattern starting to form. This guy still needed a lot of work and Machai didn't think he'd make a good soldier anyway.

His attitude was a self-interested one where he didn't really care for others. For an army that is meant to help people, those types weren't the best to be initiated.

After a minute and a half, the guy was visibly tiring out and slowing down. "Fight back, coward!" He emphasized his phrase with a heavy swipe to the side that made Machai jump back to dodge it.

"No thanks. I don't want to be kicked out. I would," he ducked under another swipe, "appreciate it if," jumped to the side of a stab, "you stopped attacking me," actually jumped and spun in the air to miss the sword, "before you get kicked out."

Machai's talking and dodging without apparent effort seemed to anger him even more judging by the snarls the man was emitting.

"Stop fighting this instant!" A commanding voice echoed throughout the hall. The guy who collected the placards at the door strode over to where Machai was being attacked.

"You all know the rules. No fighting outside the ring." He seemed to be judging the situation.

Machai almost broke into a wide smile when the coordinator turned angered eyes on the hot tempered one. "And it's clear what has happened here. An angered man trying to scare off an unarmed beginner who obviously knew the rules." Oh, he even felt the need to explain it.

"You!" He said pointing to the burly man. "Get out! We don't want hot heads who can't keep control over themselves." This only seemed to anger the man even more.

"What! This brat was the one who started it!" The man glanced at Machai's now slightly shocked face. The man turned back and said with a raised eyebrow, "So he was the one who attacked you first?" The man rolled his eyes when all he got was a quiet growl as an answer.

"As I thought. You are hereby disqualified for fighting when it was expressly forbidden. You may leave on your own, or I will call for security and you'll be banned from ever competing again." Machai almost thought he'd argue again but was slightly relieved he stomped away. He just wanted to mess with Chaos, not get someone forbidden to ever join. Who knows? Maybe this will teach the guy to watch his temper.

The coordinator didn't even look back at Machai and strode forward to the doors that lead further into the colosseum. "When I call your number, you'll have one minute to come to the front. You and your competitor will go through these doors into the stadium. You both will wait until the referee gives you the signal to start before initiating the battle or else you'll be automatically disqualified. There are no rules except for attacking with the intent to kill. All skills, abilities, and items are allowed to further your chances of winning."

He pulled out a sheet a paper and yelled out, "1532 and 1721!" Two people started weaving their way through the crowd and entered the doors together. One minute passed before the next numbers were called out.

This process continued every minute until 58 minutes passed when he yelled out, "1506 and 1622!" Machai almost let out a thankful sigh but composed himself when others noticed it was 'the brat' who was called. He would show them who he really was now that he had his fun.

He could tell his expressionless face with his smooth, confident stride surprised many. They most likely expected an innocent, eager expression judging by his earlier cheerful attitude.

He walked through the doors with someone who was around mid-twenties. He had a sword on his waist and two daggers strapped to his thighs. His muscular body didn't really match the smaller knives, and he didn't think they were for throwing, so he wondered what this guy used them for. Did he use them as a back-up if he lost his sword, and since they were small, they were quick weapons that didn't get in the way of his main one?

They walked together in silence until they reached open double doors. The cheers of the crowd were easily heard as the sounds of banging feet and roars of the people reverberated across the circular stadium.

The exit led into a 20X20 room without a roof so the crowds could see the competitors fight. When the entered, Machai nodded his head towards the other as a sign of good faith, but all he got in return was an emotionless stare and a quick dismissal.

' _Well, that was rude.'_ Machai thought. Either way, they both headed to opposite sides of the ring and waited to begin. The other guy pulled out his sword and got into a ready position. To make it fair, Machai only took out his right side sword and prepared himself. He didn't know anything about this guy's species, and for all he knew, his race could be known for their superior speed and close the distance in a second.

The referee didn't even speak to start the match. He raised his hand, looked to make sure both competitors were ready, and threw down his hand.

1506 crouched low and shot himself forward. Machai almost sighed in relief that his race wasn't known for speed. Machai changed his stance to prepare for a collision and only had to wait three seconds for the guy to reach him.

The guy, Machai was just going to call him Rudeman, started with a lung towards his left lung. He stepped to the side and pushed the opponent's sword away. He quickly spun himself and followed with a slash to Rudeman's left thigh hoping to catch him off balance.

However, the guy was prepared for the block and parried before a full on fight ensued.

The fight lasted three minutes in total. All in all, Machai appreciated the fight and learned something from it. Rudeman was very light on his feet and seemed to never become off balance no matter how much it looked like he should be. The first two minutes was Machai trying to figure out how he did it.

After another lunge, Machai critically assessed Rudeman's posture and saw that he seemed to slightly lean back towards the direction he was coming from. This stopped his momentum after a certain distance and allowed him to keep his balance.

So after figuring that out and seeing no more interesting moves, he quickly disarmed him. Machai waited to see if Rudeman would fight with the daggers and was excited to see that he was. He really wanted to know how someone like him fought with small daggers.

However, he was disappointed to find out they were magical daggers that lengthened to sword length. Inwardly sighing, he retrieved his other sword and charged. 30 seconds later, Rudeman was sprawled on his back with his swords knocked towards the edge of the arena.

Machai was announced the winner and was told to go back the way he came. Not knowing how going back to where everyone else was worked, he just shrugged and followed instructions. As he was walking down the hallway, he was surprised he didn't run into any other competitors going to or from the competition.

However, he was even more surprised when he entered the room from the beginning but only found competitors who had already fought. He looked back towards the door and back to the room. Magic was the only thing he could come up with and guessed Chaos set up this system.

He made his way over to an empty bench and sat down. Some people looked towards him but showed no outward expression. He wondered who they thought would win that fight. The way he acted would make some deem him a lost cause but a few of them actually slightly nodded their heads like they expected it. It was so small that many others probably missed it if they weren't actively looking for it.

He waited for a good couple of hours with more people trickling in before the coordinator walked back in and started announcing the next competitors. Around 30 minutes later he was called forth again. His next competitor was the same size and build as him and had two swords strapped to his waist.

They walked together in silence and Machai was pleased when he received a nod in return before acquiring a ready stance. At first glance, the guy seemed to have a good amount of skill with his dual blades, but Machai couldn't see any enhancements to give him an advantage. Machai also knew the species he was didn't have any other abilities.

The fight referee lowered his arm and Machai charged. He was met a lunge and quickly countered before spinning to the left. Following up with a downward swing and a shift in footwork for a later follow-up with an upward swing with his left sword.

His attack was blocked and was surprised to find a foot in the way, stopping his momentum. He had to jump back instead of his original plan. Yes, this person had some experience. Tuff luck he had to face him though.

He charged once again but slid under him like he was going for a base in baseball. He almost chuckled at the surprised look he got for such an unpredictable and bold move.

The guy jumped, since that was his only option, but Machai grabbed his legs and pulled him down as he went under him. He then used his legs to push him into a handstand with the guy's feet underneath his hands and landed on top of him.

He quickly turned around and grabbed his shoulder and chin before giving a light yank. Both competitor and referee, knowing that would have been a kill, ended the match.

Machai got off him and held out a hand with a small smile. The guy returned with a smile of his own and said, "That was a crazy though effective move. I might use that in the tournament next year so I can laugh at my opponents shocked look. I know you probably laughed a little at mine."

Machai let out laugh and said, "I may have smiled a little internally. You are very skilled though. Not many would interrupt someone by sticking their foot in the way."

The guy smiled and said, "I guess were both full of surprises." With a friendly shake of the hand, they parted ways as Machai was directed back through the door. Not surprised to find himself in a different room, he sat and waited for his next instructions.

Well, he was now officially in Chaos' army. He looked around to some of the others already in the room and many showed either excitement or relief. Many actually had some left over injuries, and Machai wondered where the more severely injured went. They probably got carted off to wherever the infirmary was.

Three hours later the last competitor walked in with the coordinator right behind him. Machai stood up with the rest of the group as the guy walked up to a podium.

"Congratulations competitors!" he yelled out. "Every winner of today's competition are now members of the tenth unit. As you know, your skills and prowess in battle will determine if you should be moved up a rank. Now, all of you will who don't want to keep competing in the tournament, head out the back door where you will find a guide to show you where your dorms will be. Those who still wish to compete, stay behind and we'll begin in 5 minutes."

 _'What?'_ Machai thought. Chaos didn't say he had the option to not compete in the tournament! Machai guessed Chaos just wanted to see him at his best. Well, screw him. Chaos would have to work a lot harder to get anything from him.

With that, he turned around and headed to the doors with a fair amount of others who didn't want to compete. He was actually surprised more didn't want to try.

As he was following the guide to their new homes for the rest of their time in the army, Machai wondered how his time in the army would play out.

Would he be unable to hide his abilities and either of his identities get exposed? Would Chaos take revealing who he is as a personal mission? There were so many factors in his upcoming time in the army that Machai just decided to roll with the flow and work with what he gets. He was always a better improviser than planner anyway.

Word Count

Chapter/Whole Story

5250/140,900


	27. Tenth Unit

HEYYYYYY! Long time no see peeps! I know it's been an extremely long time since I've updated and I really don't have an excuse to cover up the whole time. But I can tell you fate apparently didn't want me to start writing yet a couple of weeks ago since when I finally tried to get on to write ... my computer wouldn't turn on.

You know, whenever I would read a story and people would say their computer broke or they lost their story, I would think, 'man tough luck.' ... I now see what's it like. Luckily, I could still get documents off my hard drive so I didn't lose my story.

Anyway, I've finally got a new computer and wrote up the next chapter and am now presenting it to you all for your pleasure ;).

Once again, sorry it took so long and I still can't guarantee any upcoming updates. I'll be quite busy this year being the Vice President of SGA while also taking courses very important to the degree I'm working on. So, wish me luck both for classes and finding inspiration to write.

I'll stop now and let you read the awesomeness of Machai's time in the tenth unit! XD

As he walked down the grand hallway, he admired the effort put into each part of the hall. Each pillar had its own designs, which looked to be parts of history, and the artifacts on the podiums were most likely priceless.

The others were looking back and forth excitedly, conversing with each other about anything and everything. Machai picked up a few conversations like what the army would be like and their plan to rise up in the ranks.

Once they got to the end of the hallway and everyone was out of the room, the 'tour guide' turned around and addressed the group.

"Hello everyone, my name is Hevo and I'll be taking you to your quarters and answering any relevant questions about the army. You may choose to wander if you wish but know I won't be waiting for you if you get lost." He turned around to keep walking. "Now, this statue was made by ...," and that was how the majority of the tour went.

Though, as they passed one intersection, the tour guide actually stopped and said, "These two plaques here are probably some of the oldest and most important artifacts in the universe. Not because of monetary value, but because what is written on them." Machai couldn't really see them since he was so far away but if he strained his eyes he could make out two silver edged plaques with white writing on a solid black background.

"These two plaques each contain a prophecy." And that was when Machai lost complete interest in it. He'd had enough of prophecies and wanted nothing to do with them. However, he had a bad feeling that somehow, he was a part of one whether he liked it or not. He just hoped Hevo didn't speak them out loud.

"One of them is known as the Great Prophecy and the other as the Minor Prophecy, though I don't find foretelling the heir of Chaos very minor." There was excited chittering going on between everybody as they rushed to read the prophecy.

Machai just stood off to the side and let everybody pass him, not wanting to get even an inch closer to it until it was time to go.

'I bet you're the main one in both of them.' Machai almost jumped at Razack's voice in his head.

'Well good day to you too. You finally decided to separate your mind from mine?' Machai said with some amusement. He always wondered what it would feel like to link your mind with another and 'fall asleep.' Of course, Machai did try it with Razack controlling his body but he never hit deep sleep.

'Yep, I thought I should pipe in to make sure you didn't delude yourself into thinking you're not special or something.' Machai groaned while Razack laughed. All Machai could do was hang his head, because he was pretty sure he would at least play a minor role in both prophecies. He just hoped he wasn't the main one in either. Definitely since the minor one was becoming the heir of the entire universe.

Machai sighed, 'yeah, knowing me I will somehow get mixed up into it like every other time.' He paused, thinking for a second before a slightly malicious smile grew on his face. 'You know, I'm starting to feel tired so maybe whenever this prophecy stuff starts I'll give you control and try out this sleeping thing you do.'

Machai's smile grew a little bit more when he was met with nervous silence. 'Very funny, little one.' A scowl formed on Machai's face which only grew when he heard that small chuckle in his head. 'You and I both know the prophecy is meant for you and I am here to help you along your journey. Have faith and train hard, and I know you will overcome any challenge you may face.'

With that, Machai felt Razack retreating back into his mind and tightly weaving himself back into his consciousness. In a way, it felt quite strange when he really thought about it, but it was also very comforting to always feel your most trusted companion with you.

Back to being aware of the outside world, he found himself at the end of the tour group instead of the middle before he was interrupted by his friend. He could still clearly hear the tour guide and he absently wondered what made his voice sound the same no matter what distance he was.

The walk lasted another 20 minutes or so before entering one of the wings in the residential part of the complex.

If Machai had to use one word to describe it, he would say it was ginormous. The entry room was filled with lounges and small screens with a receptionist desk dead center in the room. The solid white marble wall held various paintings and other items with thick columns spaced out every twenty feet. The desk was a circular shape with a diameter around 50 feet and a massive column sprouting from the middle, reaching all the way to the ceiling.

In the middle of each wall was a large doorway that most likely led to the actual living quarters and were labeled Wing A, B and C. Overall, Machai was quite impressed with the area, definitely since this was supposed to be the lowest unit.

"Alright everybody, this room is the common room. It's where you can hang out and chat with your fellow comrades and also obtain any information available to you. Now, you all will be staying in Wing B for the duration of your time in the 10th unit. Each room holds five beds, one bathroom, and a small sitting area. Additionally, each person will be provided a chest to store their clothes and other belongings. I should warn you though that while we don't permit stealing, we are not responsible if anything is stolen." There were a couple of wary side glances with that.

"The men's dorms are on the left side of the hall while the women's are on the other. Both genders are allowed entry to either side as long as there aren't any complaints from other roommates." There were a couple of sly and leering grins coming from some of the bolder males. Machai just rolled his eyes at the immaturity of some of them. He was looking forward to seeing one of them slapped.

"Meals last two hours with breakfast at sunrise, lunch at noon and dinner at 6:00. Training for this unit starts an hour after sunrise so I recommend eating early. A map can be procured at the help desk to find your training grounds, cafeteria, etc. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask the help desk." With that, he nodded to the group and disappeared through Wing A's door.

Guessing they were on their own now, pretty much all of the group headed towards Wing B to claim their preferred room and bed. Since Machai was one of the last in line, which he didn't really mind, he knew to head towards the back, middle area unless he wanted to have an awkward moment and walk into an already filled room.

He watched some people enter in different rooms and looked for someone who he at least seemed like he could get along to enter a room. Spotting a grey haired man around his late thirties or early forties with a serious but calm expression, he followed him into a room about 15 doors from the back.

Inside there were already two people unpacking next to each other and chatting back and forth. Judging by their light tones, easy banter, and almost identical looks, Machai would hazard a guess that they were twins.

They both paused and looked at both the man and Machai with a more serious face, most likely judging them. Machai couldn't see the man's response but he gave a very small upward tilt of his lips and a nod which seemed to pass their initial inspection.

That out of the way, he inspected the fair sized room. Each single sized bed was along the wall to the left with a door to the bathroom on the right closer to the back wall and an open living room that could comfortably fit all five of them closer to the door.

The two already in the room had the two beds closest to the door while the grey haired man took the last bed. Preferring not to be in the middle, he chose the fourth bed next to the guy.

None of them really had much to unpack since they probably all preferred to keep their supplies hidden from the others until trust was garnered. However, all of them unstrapped their weapons and laid them on the bed for the time being. Machai also laid his weapons down as a show of trust because that was exactly what it was.

The twins were the first ones to make a move. "Hello, my name is Jeos and this is my brother Kelo. We're twins from the planet Jacovik and we look forward to working with you guys." Jeos said this in a respectful, though neutral, tone and Kelo nodded at the end.

They looked to be in their mid-twenties and both had dark golden skin with two small, spiral horns jutting out of their head. They each had three fingers and their eyes had a bluish tint to them that surprisingly matched their skin tone.

Seeing they were looking at Machai next, he responded. "My name is Machai. I'm a lone traveler that has been to many planets and hasn't settled in a long time, and I joined Chaos' army to try out a new experience and learn what there is to offer."

They gave him small smiles and nods before turning to the other guy. He spoke up in a gruff voice, "Razalric. I was saved by Chaos' army some ten years ago but my family didn't make it. I decided to train to become a warrior and join so that I may help save someone else."

Machai gave a little bit bigger of a smile and nodded towards him with respect shining in his eyes. While the past event wasn't pleasant, he used it as motivation to better himself and later, others. He wondered how good of a fighter he was if he'd been training for at least ten years.

His body structure was muscular, but not bulging and it definitely matched his greatsword on the bed. He was around 6'8" and had a skin tone of a lighter shade of navy blue which made his golden irises really stand out. Smooth scales ran down from his shoulders to his wrists to protect the outside of his arms. There were most likely more running along his legs and possibly chest but he couldn't see them. Machai thought his body structure and weaponry would be perfect for a commander's position. He absently wondered how well he could lead men into battle.

A knock interrupted them from further conversation and someone opened the door (which couldn't be locked until tomorrow). He was quite short around 5'2" with peppered tan skin and green, slitted eyes like a snake.

Machai could instantly tell he was nervous no matter how hard he tried to hide it. "Hello, I was wondering if this room is full and if not, I could join you guys." Machai look towards the twins since they were the first ones in the room. He gave a shrug when they looked towards him and went back to his bed.

Jeos said, "Sure, you can have the bed in the middle. We just finished introductions so you have perfect timing." He finished with a bright smile and Machai wondered if he picked up on the small guy's nervousness.

The short guy smiled and introduced himself while heading over towards the middle bed. "Hey, my name is Nafeary and I'm from the planet Dinaru. Umm, I love learning new things and look forward to meeting you all."

They all nodded towards him with small smiles and re-introduced themselves. As Machai looked at his new teammates, he was starting to look forward to his time in the army. It had been so long since he'd worked with another and he wondered how many mistakes he would make or if he would try to do everything by himself.

He inwardly shrugged to himself as they all headed off to dinner. The twins were wearing down Nafeary's shyness surprisingly fast while Razalric and Machai trailed behind them in amusement. He couldn't wait to start training with them and stretch some old muscles. It's been awhile since he's truly trained.

~~~ Three Months Later ~~~

Traveling through the infinite universe were ten ships filled with troops of the 10th division. Each ship held 100 infantry and 50 more specialists such as healers and mechanics. Machai and his unit were located on the leading ship with the commander of the mission.

He was exceedingly proud of his unit for working hard in order to attain the position of the strongest five man unit in the entire 10th division. He sighed as he leaned back into a cushioned seat as he reminisced about the training he and his friends underwent to bring them to this day.

The 10th unit's trainer, though calling him a drill sergeant would be more accurate, worked them to the bone on the first day. Even he was slightly winded, so he couldn't even imagine how the people passed out on the floor felt, at least, before they passed out ... though, they probably felt pretty good after passing out now that he thought about it ... lucky bastards.

Over time, Machai and his roommates became a well-coordinated team. Jeos and Kelo, while fun loving addicts on the outside, were completely serious during training and on the battlefield. Jeos was beast with the sword and shield combo while Kelo dual wielded long daggers and swords with throwing daggers as his ranged weapon. It actually surprised Machai during the first training session to watch determination and resolve enter their eyes. He wondered if they too had a hard history and were making up for it by protecting others.

Nafeary turned out to be an excellent strategist and a wealth of knowledge. He was able to analyze any situation and come up with the best counter plans in only seconds. The shy boy was a completely different person on the battlefield too. He was a magic user specializing in support magic and healing but also knew a good bit of offensive spells too to protect himself. Another thing amazing about him was that he could wield a bow very well. He wasn't an expert but could hold his own with it.

Razalric was just as he assumed he would be. He was focused and driven to be the best he could be and complete his goals in life. Machai would almost say he was just as good as Rufeir who guarded the light sword. If he could get a master to personally teach him then Machai knew he would become one of the best great swordsmen out there. His strength and speed with that gigantic weapon covered his weak points just as well as a shield too.

Machai worked best up front with him. Razalric being bigger and having a more intimidating weapon drew more attention from the quicker Machai which allowed Machai to get closer and quickly finish them off. Razalric took the heavy hitters too which Machai couldn't battle with since he only used a limited amount of strength.

He basically limited himself to being slightly stronger than the size of his body should be but didn't cut down his speed too much. He also didn't reveal any of his abilities. Though, he was pretty sure Razalric saw him the one time he did use his water ability to save a comrade. Machai was fortunate enough that his teammate was willing to let it slide.

Turbulence jarred him out of his thoughts as they descended onto the planet. Most of the ride was silent with nerves and with the notion that now they were really doing their jobs. The bay doors slowly opened with a groan and everyone stood to exit. Machai walked with his unit to the commander's tent to wait for further instructions.

On the way, Jeos finally spoke up, "So, you guys looking forward to some action and proving our place in this division!" His voice seemed to pump up some fellow soldiers around them and a small smile found its way onto Machai's face. He spoke in a strong, smooth voice and said, "Yes, it is time for us all to prove ourselves today."

He saw he pretty much had everyone's attention so he raised his voice slightly. "We have trained long and hard to where we are today and I think it's time to show the universe how far we've come!" While not a cheering out loud motivational speech, it got the job done to lessen everyone's nerves and get them to look forward to testing their metal.

In return, he got smiles from the twins, a shy smile from Nafeary and a respectful nod from Razalric. As they entered the tent, Machai became serious as he spotted the commander at the head of the war table. The table itself had a holographic image of the city taken over by the enemy. More and more red dots and information was coming in every second as scouts sent in their gathered information.

It was looking like a 1,500 red dot army with 150 yellow dots meaning civilians. The group of red with many of the yellow dots in the center was most likely the enemy's base of operations and having the hostages with them prevented Chaos' army from just barging in and annihilating them.

The commander looked up and nodded towards Machai before explaining the plan. As he listened, he thought about how much respect he's been given since joining the army. His skill alone would be enough to guarantee his position, but his personality and positive attitude towards others just pushed him above and beyond.

Machai would always help someone in need and even help train his own teammate when official training was over. Whether it was teaching them new moves or sparring with him without holding back, since surprisingly few could handle true killing intent from a friend or outside a battlefield, he would always be willing to give aid.

That was one reason why his team was the top unit in the whole division. While they each were individually skilled, practice against a real opponent that one would face on a battlefield was hard to come by.

After all the details were laid out, Machai agreed that the plan was as sound as it was going to get in the short amount of time they had and the commander went out to rally the other unit leaders to divulge the plan.

For the next hour and a half, the units were put into position around the edges of the city. Machai was with his unit, the commander's unit and six other five man teams as they headed down three streets that lead straight to the capital.

It wasn't the main road so hopefully they wouldn't run into as much trouble, but they were still expecting a formidable resistance. Machai's group led in the front since they had the best detection rate and could spot sneak attacks before they commenced.

They also were the strongest in general so they would either be able to repel any attacks or at least hold them long enough for one of the other squads to back them up.

Soon their paths started intersecting with other units, creating a much larger force. Machai could tell that a few units encountered some trouble judging by some cuts and limps he saw. Luckily it didn't seem like anyone was too injured to be held back.

As they finally neared the main base, a deep cry of pain from a familiar voice whose safety was supposed to be guaranteed sounded out.

Machai turned around to see the damage and how exactly someone got past him and saw a dead assassin with smashed legs signifying breaking them from a high jump. The assassin obviously jumped from one of the taller buildings, but he couldn't have come from the front since Machai was constantly checking water vapor displacement.

This must mean he ran across the buildings from the back and jumped down. He also must have had some type of concealment ability or item to get past the commander's personal guard.

He quickly made his way over with Nafeary who had some medical knowledge if any of the healers hadn't already made it. However, it seemed the healers were already there, though, judging by their faces, there wasn't anything they could do.

As he neared, the commander was coughing up blood from a fatal neck wound. The dying man's eyes instantly locked on to Machai and croaked out his last phrase.

"Lead ... my men ... to victory..."

Even though the setting was somber, Machai was cursing inside his head for getting close enough to the commander for him to know that he was more than he revealed and would make sure anyone he lead would achieve victory.

Though, the commander was a good man to talk to and crack a good jock with after hours, he also was an excellent leader and Machai wished he was in his personal guard so he could have stopped the attack. Sadly, he wasn't and now he had to end this mission with a victory in honor of the late commander.

He quickly and efficiently took over and was immensely grateful he was filled in earlier with all the details, even the ones the others leaders weren't filled in. He absently wondered if the commander prepared for this scenario. 'Smart bastard,' he thought fondly.

After getting everyone back on track and using the commander's death to motivate his men to avenge him, they invaded the building. There were a couple of traps and barriers that would have been harder to get by if Machai didn't lessen some of their effects or get rid of them altogether, discretely of course.

Even after everything he'd been through, Machai had always cared about his men, and he felt every single death under his command, even if he didn't show it.

The battle lasted into the afternoon of the next day due to some type of magical barrier, but they eventually bypassed it. However, the leader of the opposing force committed suicide and burned all the documents so they were unable to gather any information about the organization that was attacking.

At the end of the day, the 10th division left with a complete victory but not without their loses. In total, 192 good men were lost during the battle and another 89 were injured. Comrades mourned for their friends but quickly celebrated their victory. Everyone knew the risks and none would want to be cried over.

The ride home was filled with boasting and ego stroking while everyone had a good laugh. As the ships unloaded their occupants, the commander ship was filled with a loud exclamation of "POOL PARTY!"

Many men and women chuckled, cheered and groaned but all headed off to the pool after getting changed.

The pool was located outside on the grounds and could easily hold 1000 people. There was even a lazy river ... for the lazy people of course. The shape of the pool was close to a splatter effect with a big center and smaller off-shoot pools.

Machai's and three other units went to one of the off-shoot ones with a volleyball net to start up a game. When they arrived after changing, Machai was already relaxing at the side of the pool with only his armor off. Jeos groaned out loud and whined, "Maaachaiii, this is the time to loosen up and have fun! Not sit around and wait for hard training to take away fun time!"

Machai lazily opened one eye and replied, "I'm quite loose right now and I find stretching out and relaxing a nice pass time. You can make training fun if you want but you can't make it less strenuous."

With a mutter of "lazy bones should go to the lazy area," everyone laughed and jumped into the pool. However, as they picked out teams and got ready, it soon became apparent they had an odd number of people. All eyes instantly locked on to the oblivious Machai.

Jeos grinned and called out in a sing-song voice, "Maachaaii." Once again Machai opened a single eye and sighed out, "Yess."

He soon became wary when he saw the shit eating grin on Jeos' face and everyone smiling at him.

"There's an odd number of people so now you have no choice." He drew himself up all proudly like and said in a faux command voice, "Go change and join us." He even held himself with his chin up and eyes closed, like he was waiting for a 'yes, milord' or something.

There was a slight pause on Machai's end before he said a little stiffly, "Why don't you go ask someone over there," as he pointed towards the central pool. "I'm quite comfortable."

Some people started to notice Machai's reluctance to enter the pool and wondered if Machai really wanted to relax or to not get into the pool. It didn't make sense for it to be the latter but the pauses and his voice was pointing towards that conclusion.

However, Jeos was oblivious and kept pressuring. "Ahh, come on. You'd totally rock at any sport you play and I honestly would rather have our commander and friend play with us than someone random."

Jeos and everybody knew he was guilting Machai into doing it but now many were curious about what exactly Machai's fear was.

They all stiffened slightly when a weight seemed to be pressed upon them. It wasn't anything physical but it was definitely something, and judging by how Machai was really Looking at them, he was the source. It was like he was assessing them.

It only lasted a second, but when Machai agreed and went to go change, the people he left looked at each other to make sure they felt it too.

Jeos nervously chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. "Did anyone else feel like they were being judged if they were worthy?" Many nodded in agreement and grew contemplative expressions.

One of the women spoke up doubtfully, "Do you think he was afraid of the water?" Kelo immediately shook his head and said, "No, we've had training in the water, and honestly, he completed in record time; he was that good. He was a natural and looked like he was in his element.

Silence descended upon the group as they tried to figure out why Machai seemed reluctant to enter the water. However, none of them could come up with anything and waited to see if they could figure it out when Machai came back.

They saw Machai exit the building ten minutes later and watched as he walked over to them.

A quick gasp from one of the spy unit members told the other units something about Machai shocked her and ... nearly brought her tears.

As he came closer, more people started to notice the crisscrossing scars littering Machai's body and everyone in the pool were struck silent. When he finally reached the edge of the pool, some were gaping in horror, some had expressions of shock and some had a tense, emotionless facade to hide their true feelings on the matter lest they burst and start shouting for blood.

What they saw was so past torture they couldn't even imagine how it happened. There was very little skin left unmarked and they could all tell they weren't just surface scars. They were deep incisions and stabs, and, honestly, they were surprised he survived whatever ordeal caused that.

They were brought out of their shock when they finally really looked at Machai and saw he had crossed his right arm over his chest to grab onto his left arm in a nervous gesture. He even averted his eyes slightly which was so un-Machai like that they knew they stared way too long.

To try and cover it up, Jeos plastered a smile on his face and said, "Well, you coming in so we can cream the other team?!"

Machai's soft smile made everyone's heart skip a beat. It was another un-Machai like action, but they couldn't help but think it fit perfectly on his face. They all made a vow that day to do everything they could to see it more often.

Machai jumped into the pool with a burst of laughter and everyone pushed what they saw to the back of their minds. While they couldn't question Machai to get their revenge, they could at least take his mind off what was definitely one of the hardest decisions he'd ever made.

Now it made complete sense why he didn't want to get into the pool. Everyone had their shirts off and shorts on which would have made Machai wearing a long sleeve shirt and pants suspicious.

However, they couldn't help but feel grateful that Machai was willing to show them something so personal. Because there was no doubt that there were a few people who saw him on the way, and information spread quickly through the army.

They played multiple games before calling it a day and heading back inside, laughing all the way to the dorms. The past was the past and they all could tell that Machai wasn't going to let it rule over him, so they didn't feel the need for him to release his burden on one of them.

Their respect for him knew no bounds after knowing he's persevered through so much and could still be such a great person and leader. Most fell asleep that night thinking how thankful they were to have a leader such as Machai.

~~~ Chaos POV ~~~

Up in his office Chaos sat mulling over the day's events. The only major thing of note dealt with the 10th division and their new commander. Once the army came back with surprisingly few loses, Chaos went to check the battlefield and found a few inconsistencies after Machai became commander. Don't get him wrong, he was relieved that there were so few loses. However, he knew next to nothing about his slippery Savior and wanted to see if he could find anything.

Some shots seemed to swerve in midair, many of the traps weren't dismantled properly or just destroyed altogether and most interesting were some of the dead bodies that didn't have a clear cause of death or just died in a strange way.

Many seemed to have died by suffocation which the only mage in the 10th division who could conceivably do that was on the other side of the city. Chaos had a strong feeling as to who was responsible for the low death count even if he couldn't prove it and couldn't figure out how he did it!

When the army came back and asked to have the pool to themselves, he was in no position to deny them their first celebratory victory party. As he watched his little enigma head back inside to most likely change. Chaos wondered why he didn't do so with the others while also seeming reluctant to get in. However, his question was soon answered as Machai walked back to the pool.

With his enhanced vision, he could clearly see the many jagged scars littering his body and all he could do was gape in silence. Chaos had rarely seen someone with so many scars, let alone ones clearly from torture.

He thought back to all the times he'd talked to Machai but wouldn't have ever assumed he had been tortured as close to death as possible. He could see how it went now. Tortured nonstop until death was almost upon him, but to be snatched back to reality before the sweet relief of death by gentle, healing hands, only to be tortured brutally all over again would have been horrible.

As it seemed Machai was accepted by his peers, Chaos walked back to his desk and leaned back into his cushioned chair. While this didn't exactly help figure Machai out, it was a very personal thing for Machai to show.

It brought a smile to his face to see Machai loosening up. He may be trying to figure him out, but he also would like Machai to appreciate and enjoy his time in the army. As he watched the game come to an end and everyone left laughing back to their dorms, he started his already overdue paperwork with a quickly depleting smile.

How'd you like it! Feel free to leave a comment or like and I want to thank all my loyal readers who's stuck with me through my slow updates. If you have a question or anything, I would pm me because I probably won't see comments on the chapter.

Alrighty, then. I'll see you guys later!

5,400/146,300


	28. Ninth Unit

~~~ 6 Month Later ~~~

Not even six months later, Machai's team went up an entire rank after participating in a small tournament designed to test the different units. By that time, Machai was well known throughout the entire tenth unit as one of the greatest commanders they ever had. He held the record for the lowest death count and most votes to stay when a replacement was available after he became commander. Hello my name is Erin Waddell.

Usually, a commander would stay with the unit assigned to them; however, everyone knew Machai wouldn't stay forever. Most commanders were in the upper ranks of the tenth unit. Meaning, while they could probably make the cut to advance, their skills would be of more use being a commander. Of course, many other factors were taken into consideration too, such as logistical planning and other such skills.

So, it was six months after Machai became commander that his roommates jumped up a rank, which was the first time a whole team was promoted within a year. While that was a great achievement, it did create much resentment with many 9th unit members who worked nonstop for years in order to increase their rank.

The team found themselves being tested almost every day, whether it was through extra training or resisting the urge to pummel someone into the ground to stop the insults. It was like that for the first month until they were able to partner with another unit that was friendly with them.

Luckily for Machai's team, this team was respected by the majority of the unit, so when they told everyone to give Machai's team a chance, they grudgingly did so. After that, people started to notice Machai's team for the people they were instead of their achievements. Soon, many enjoyed hanging out with them and often came to Machai for training tips.

All in all, it was another unit, just slightly higher in the ranks.

~~~ 2 Months Later ~~~

"Everyone! We got a mission!" yelled the leader of the other unit, Jyrun. He was speaking to the nine people in the room doing various things. Two were playing a game similar to chess, two were watching a show, two were in the kitchen starting dinner, two were going over future training programs, and one was stuck to the ceiling above the two planning … he looked a little disgruntled. However, everyone stopped what they were doing to listen.

Jyrun nodded when he had everyone's attention. "The mission is to retrieve a package from King Rorik of Asperia and deliver it to Senator Rynok, who is currently on Jacovik in a conference. This may sound easy but King Rorik warns that there may be some unsavory groups after this package. I'm sure we can safely deliver the package, right?" He said with a smirk as most nodded with Jeos shouting out, "Hell Yeah!"' Jyrun laughed and yelled, "Alright! Pack your bags! We leave in a hour!"

While four of Machai's group were looking forward to the mission, since the twin's home planet was Jacovik, Machai was thinking the total opposite. He wasn't very keen on going to Asperia.

He knew the princess's father, who he saved as Omega, was still alive since their race lived around 3,000 years. However, she wouldn't know he was in the army, so there shouldn't be anything to worry about … right?

~~~ 1 Week Earlier ~~~

If Princess Cyllin had to describe herself with one word at the moment, she would probably use, not a word, but the phase, 'nervous as hell.' She was currently sitting outside the _creator of the universe's_ office.

All she wanted to do was place a request for an armed messenger group to, of course, deliver a message. She had done this many times before, so she had no idea why the _creator of the universe_ requested to see her. Not through letter or anything, noooo. It was right after she dropped off the request.

She was just about to leave the building when a messenger stopped her and told her Chaos wished to meet with her. Now, most would probably die to get a chance to meet with Chaos. However, that would be if it was a formal event with prior warning. There were certain steps one should take to prepare for such a meeting that she was unable to do in the short walk to his office.

So, she was currently stressing herself out trying to figure out what she did to offend Chaos and how she could go about fixing it. She reviewed everything she had done since the moment she could think for herself. What could have possibly caught his attention! Sure, she may have stolen a lollipop from a store when she was twenty, but she thought her parents paid for it! … She sighed at the ridiculousness of the last statement.

She took a deep breath to calm herself down before she heard a light, "Come in." Gulping nervously, she quietly opened the door and stepped inside.

Doing a quick look around the office, she was surprised to say that it was very modest. There weren't any grand sculptures or paintings. No fancy armor display or much of anything grandiose really.

There was a bookshelf behind his wooden desk with most likely priceless tomes and scrolls. There was a carpet leading up to his desk with windows stretched across the room with enough natural light to not need artificial lights. Though, she could spot a few depressions with crystals in the ceiling for when it got dark.

She walked primly, yet nervously, to his desk before bowing her head and curtsying, "Your highness."

Chaos chuckling made her fidget, which only seemed to make his smile widen. "No need for formalities today, Princess Cyllin, so please be at ease. You're probably wondering why I wished to speak with you, so I'll get right to it. A year ago I gained a new recruit in my army that I personally sought. Right now, he is working his way through the ranks and is currently in the 9th unit. You haven't met him, but you do know of him."

She totally wasn't following. At first she thought Chaos was suspicious she had one of her men infiltrate the army for indecent means, but that was discarded by his last statement. Not being able to come up with anything, she decided Chaos was most likely building up her curiosity or nerves … which he was successful at both.

He even seemed to sense that as his smile came back. "He goes by a different name than he used with you, but I thought you would like to meet him and thank him since you were unable to do so back then."

He seemed to be done and was waiting for her to figure out this guy's identity so she started thinking. There were a couple of people she would like to thank, but she would be able to if she really wanted and without Chaos' help. So it was someone who did something generous in her eyes but was unable to be thanked by her.

Chaos spoke up again. "Let me rephrase. In a way, you were able to thank him with a gift, but you would have preferred a gift and personal thanks to fully convey your gratitude."

So, she already thanked him, just not enough. It would have to have been something so great that a gift she would give wasn't enough. She honestly couldn't think of anyone except …

Her head shot up with a hopeful look and she whispered, "Omega." Chaos' smile proved she was spot on and a smile bloomed on her face. Chaos chuckled and said, "Yes, though he goes by the name Machai while in the army. I ask that when he introduces himself that you not reveal his identity while thanking him, though as long as you don't say what you're thanking him for than most shouldn't just jump to the right conclusion."

Cyllin was already on cloud nine and vaguely remembered thanking him before leaving. Her day just got much better. Though, by the way Chaos spoke, Ome … Machai wouldn't know that Chaos told her who he really was. It was perfect for a surprise thank you party! His teammates would probably bug him for the reason, but Machai could come up with something. He was a master assassin so he would have had to be a good spy too.

She may have went into Chaos' office dreading what he had to say, but she left with the best news she'd heard yet!

~~~Back to Present~~~

After the hour was up, they made their way to the ship and took the three week flight to the kingdom of Asperia. As they flew many of the members figured there was more to this mission than met the eye. It was more than obvious by the fidgeting Machai. However, judging by his stoic look, they weren't getting anything out of him.

Surprisingly, Jeos happened to ask, already knowing he probably wouldn't get an answer. Shockingly, Machai answered, even if it wasn't very helpful. He said they would most likely find out soon and to be prepared for something unexpected. Not bad unexpected by his tone, just surprising. Jeos tried to whittle him down, but Machai wouldn't budge.

By the time they got there, Machai just seemed to be resigned to his fate. Though by the way he was acting, it was like he was being sent to the gallows, which slightly worried his fellow teammates.

They docked their ship outside the castle walls and were guided by the guard into the magnificent castle after stating their names and business. The guards led them inside the beautiful castle, which actually won the prize for the most gorgeous castle in all of galaxy 7.

As they walked into the throne room, the soldiers couldn't help but look on in awe at the intricately designed room. The white, marble pillars depicting past events in the people's history shown with the magic imbued into them.

The painting on the walls were made by the best artists in the universe and probably cost 1000 lols each! A five foot wide purple rug with gold edges led guests to the majestic thrones. There were two gorgeous thrones that were made from falite, which was one of the rarest stones only found on the planet Falkatine. Its light purple, crystalline structure and difficulty to mine made it highly sought after, so Omega couldn't even imagine how much they cost.

After everybody was done gawking at the room, they turned to face the king and princess who were waiting for them, looking as regal as ever. Princess Cyllin was known for being one of the most beautiful princesses to have ever been born with her flowing, shoulder-length brown hair and her refined features that let anybody know she was royalty. Though, it seemed as if she was searching their numbers for someone.

Putting that in the back of their minds, the 9th unit kneeled while Jyrun walked a couple of steps forward before kneeling and saying, "It is an honor to be in your presence Milady." The princess just smiled and said, "There is no need to kneel before me. You are here at my request, so you may call me Cyllin."

"Yes, Mil … Cyllin." Jyrun fixed himself much to the amusement of the princess, making Jyrun blush in embarrassment. The unit rose to their feet and Jyrun spoke, "My name is Jyrun, the designated leader of this unit, and this is my team." He said as he waved his hand behind him. "We are here to deliver the package."

The princess just smiled and said, "Thank you for doing this for me. As you know, this package is sought after by many and it can't land into the wrong hands. Before I give it to you, I would like to ask each of you your names."

The whole time, the princess never stopped subtly scanning them, and it was starting to make them nervous. However, Machai wasn't fidgeting anymore and had donned a stoic but police face, which made them wonder if he had history with the princess. Which didn't make sense since the princess should have recognized him then. Disregarding it for now since it wasn't their place, they nodded when their name was called out by Jyrun.

Machai, on the other hand, inwardly froze on the spot. What were the odds of her asking the unit's names! He had never been on a mission before where someone had asked for the whole unit's name unless it was a formal occasion, which it wasn't!

Jyrun showed a little surprise at the question but started calling out his units names, pointing to each one. "Hyru … Kido … Simod … Kay … Jeos … Kelo… Razalric… Nafeary… and Machai." The princess instantly snapped her head in hopeful shock that she heard him right.

Machai was killing himself inside hoping beyond hope she didn't say anything about his past life. He wanted to at least make it into the 3rd unit before his Savior past was revealed, but that might not be an option.

"Machai," the princess said breathlessly much to the confusion of the other unit members, who were now looking between the awestruck princess and the calm as usual Machai.

"Milady," Machai responded not liking this situation one bit. "Is it really you?" the princess hopefully asked thinking, hoping, that this was her father's savior so she could properly thank him.

Machai softly sighed, though with a slight smile. "Yes Milady." He knew his cover was about to be blown. She would start thanking him for saving her father and everybody knew that the Savior saved her father. She had kept his name a secret which he was grateful for, and he couldn't blame her if she revealed him now.

She instantly started to tear up to the surprise of the entire unit who looked at Machai trying to figure out the connection between him and the well-known princess. They were even more surprised when she flung herself on him spouting out so many thank-yous that could supply the universe for at least a week.

A soft smile crept up on his face as he returned the hug. "There is no thanks needed. Anybody would have done the same." He still didn't like basking in the fame and glory no matter how much he had changed. It just didn't sit right with him.

She practically melted in his arms until she registered what he said. She held him at arm's length and composed herself. "What do you mean there is no thanks needed! You …" She was interrupted as Machai pulled her into another hug which she once again melted into the strong arms wrapped around her. She could have stayed like that forever.

The unit was staring at the princess and Machai hugging like he saved her life and she never got to thank him for it. They knew Machai had an interesting past by the way he dodged certain questions, but they knew he wasn't a bad person so never pushed. Machai was just … a mystery they were slowly unraveling. Apparently, Machai's past was full of some interesting happenings if he got this reaction from Princess Cyllin.

Machai chuckled a little as he held her and said, "You're welcome," to appease her. She finally let go and blushed when she felt the stares and her father's smile. Luckily for her, her father broke the silence. "Yes, thank you for saving my life. Should you ever need anything, feel free to ask and I'll do my best to fulfill your request."

Machai nodded with a smile to show his appreciation, but the dawning comprehension on Nafeary's face spelled trouble for his hidden identity. He knew right when he figured it out judging by his gasp and stunned look. The others looked between Machai and Nafeary pretty much demanding an explanation from one of them when they were alone.

Once Machai focused back on the talk between Jyrun, who professionally put what just happened to the back of his mind, and King Rorik, he noticed that they were going to stay for the ball that was recently planned for tomorrow night before leaving the morning after to deliver the package.

The conversation soon ended as the group was led to their rooms. Nafeary still seemed to be recovering from the, admittedly, shocking revelation. Machai wasn't even surprised he figured it out, and it wasn't just because he was really smart as usual. King Rorik's life had only been truly threatened one time in history and many knew he was saved by the Savior. The only thing keeping the others from making the connection was probably the many years between now and then.

When they finally got to their rooms, they all gathered in Jyrun's room since it was the biggest. Machai sighed as he sat down and said, "Nafeary, explain what you've found out, and I'll fill in anything missing."

That seemed to shake him out of his stupor and he began to explain, albeit, still a little dazed. "King Roric has only been saved from one assassination during his life, and he was saved by the Savior of the people. The one who toppled entire governments through assassinations and freed countless civilizations. It was rumored that the Savior even escaped from Chaos and has never been seen since."

He got a nod in return, which didn't help his awe level. Everyone else was looking at Machai with disbelieving, but slightly comprehending, looks. Machai had always been a rather secretive person even though he had an open personality. Very little was known about his past, which would make perfect sense with that kind of backstory. Machai's ever increasing skills helped too.

Nafeary continued, not even noticing the others as he focused solely on Machai. "His methods of assassination have been debated, theorized and tested by thousands of the greatest minds and still none have come to a solid conclusion."

Machai nodded with a soft smile as Jeos spoke up. "Wait, hold on a moment. Are we talking about the father and son assassins over a hundred years ago?" Nafeary opened his mouth to answer but Hyru, one of Jyrun's members, said, "Wait, I thought it was a cult of assassins."

They all stopped talking and looked at Machai, who chuckled and said, "I am and have always been the 'Savior of the people' as everyone seems to know me as." Everyone's jaw dropped as they thought about their friend being the greatest assassin the universe had ever known.

Jyrun pitched in after a moment of silence. "Your first documented assassination was over a hundred years ago. How old are you?" Machai nodded and said, "I just turned 150 last month." Jaws dropped again as they all got accustomed to being _much_ younger than Machai, who they thought was around early twenties.

"What race are you, Machai?" Nafeary asked. "I can accurately identify most races but have never been able to figure yours out. And with such few races that can live as long as you, while still looking young, narrows down the list drastically."

Machai nodded and said, "My father was from the crustacean race, Lacuro. My mother … let's just say she was unique even amongst her family." He couldn't reveal Hestia as his mom even if they wouldn't know who she was. This information would most likely get back to Chaos, and Machai didn't want him figuring out his true identity so soon.

Knowing his father's race would explain his skin color and possible height since Lacuro were about the same size. His physique, longevity and lack of pincers would most likely be attributed to his 'mysterious' mother's side.

"Umm," Nafeary hesitantly started. "Uh, C-Chaos does know that you are in his army, right?" Most of the others stiffened at the implication. For the greatest assassin to join an _army_ probably sounded like an ulterior motive. For example, a possible target in the army that he couldn't get to without being in a high enough position in it.

"Ha! No, I joined for the same reason I said when I first met you. I joined for a new experience." Machai laughed out loud at their slightly relieved looks. They probably didn't want to procure his wrath by telling Chaos if he didn't know already. "Also, Chaos was being pushy, and I didn't want to see him pout or anything if I refused." Machai thoroughly enjoyed their incredulous expressions at his last comment. What was even better was that Chaos probably would have pouted if he looked like he was going to refuse.

It'd been awhile since they've talked. They needed to have a chat anyway about random topics since he could tell Chaos enjoyed them. It was most likely a rare occurrence for him to talk to someone who didn't look up to him and speak carefully in fear of saying the wrong thing and gaining his wrath.

Jeos nervously laughed, "Haha, that was funny." He looked towards Machai who put on a slightly confused face that said, 'I seriously meant that though,' which didn't help the other room occupants.

Seeing how no one else was going to speak, Machai continued. "Chaos got lucky and caught me in one of my 'on the spot' assassinations. We talked for a bit, and he _strongly_ encouraged me to come to his army recruitment tournament, which, as you see, I did. From then on you pretty much know the rest."

Everyone seemed to finally accept him as being the Savior, and he was happy to see that they didn't have an awe or nervous look anymore. He would prefer to be treated the same as always.

Nafeary spoke up again in a hopeful voice. "So, how did you commit all those assassinations? You must have some type of teleporting ability, which is beyond rare and even then most are just short bursts of extreme speed, and your skill in stealth must be extraordinary!" Machai chuckled at everyone's eager or interested expressions, but he had to disappoint them.

"Sorry, everyone. Trade secret. Maybe someday I'll tell or show you, but for now, I can't satisfy your curiosity." Nafeary sighed despondently but nodded his head, slightly expecting that answer now that he thought about it.

Machai clapped and stood up. "Well, it's time for everyone to get some sleep. I hope knowing about this doesn't change anything between us. I am and have always been Machai, just as I have been Omega, the Savior of the people." He smiled as everyone softly smiled at him and nodded their heads. Machai was happy that nothing seemed to change. He went to sleep that night quite happy that his friends knew more about him and accepted him fully.

The ball the next day was as grand as he expected, though he was surprised at the large attendance for a quickly put together ball. Lords and ladies from all over the galaxy came and socialized amongst themselves.

The two major points of the day were his clothes and dancing with the princess.

Only prepared to deliver a package, they were wholly unprepared for a gallant ball, but the king was kind enough to pay for some speedily tailored clothes. They were quite nice, but some of the professional tailors could probably tell that they were hastily made judging by some of the superior looks people sent the group.

The other major event was dancing with the princess. Most attendees knew that King Rorik and Princess Cyllin invited a group from Chaos army who was already in the castle, so it wasn't a surprise to see them. However, what did surprise and astonish most was Machai dancing with the princess. Machai didn't know how many social cues he was breaking, but he honestly didn't care.

While it had been a while since he last danced, he was just as good and was happy to impress the most likely important people with stern looks. He gave himself an inner thumbs-up when he finished dancing.

After it was over, the group thanked the king and princess for the invitation and left the next day to deliver the package. They didn't encounter any trouble, luckily, so it was smooth flying to Jeos' and Kelo's home planet.

They spent the rest of day being led around by the two and enjoying their time together. While morbid, every day should be preserved in the army, because anything could happen at any time. Whether it's being sent to war or even a training accident. So, they had a great time and left back to the base the next day.

All in all, it was an easy mission where they learned much about each other, especially Machai. They grew closer through the shared secret, and Machai was glad to have such great friends and loyal companions.

~~~Chaos' POV~~~

Chaos once again was looking out of his window when he saw his little enigma's group return from their mission. He was slightly anxious as to how Machai would react, but was greatly relieved to see him laughing with his team.

Chaos knew he was taking a great risk telling Princess Cyllin about Machai's identity. He knew that Machai's friends had a high chance of figuring out his identity even if Cyllin didn't explicitly say the reason for her thanks. And judging by the way the king treated Machai at the ball (his spy, who was on a mission, also reported about Machai), his secret was most likely revealed to everyone who was in the room when Machai was thanked. Because the king's pride would have demanded he verbally thank Machai for saving his life.

He softly smiled as he went back to his desk. He was happy Machai was putting trust with his teammates and opening up to them. He just hoped that Machai didn't hold it against him for revealing his identity. He would definitely miss Machai's sassy and sarcastic remarks.

HEEEEYYYYY! Long time no read ;) I finally found inspiration to write while actually having enough time to write the chapter!

Alright, I know the majority of the people wanted me to update my story before I go back and edit, but I think I may have to edit first before moving on. I want to change some things in the beginning that could affect what I want to write in the future. Also, it has been so long since I've written/read this story, and I'm forgetting many small things that are kind of important. For example, his age. It actually took a while of searching through my story to figure it out (left Earth at 22, trained for four years (26), 50 years as assassin (76), 50 year break (126), 22 years as assassin before being caught (148), and one year per unit so far so ninth is 150. Anyway, I'll probably do that first and hopefully get back to updating afterward.

Alright, I know some will be wondering how Machai is moving so fast up the ranks when many others have to wait years or even decades. This is because of multiple reasons: his skill level, his personality, recommendations, history during his unit and, of course, Chaos wanting him higher up where he could 'show his true potential.' However, Chaos knows certain formalities have to be taken into account, such as every member going through every rank, etc.

Anyway, if you have any questions, feel free to pm me. I don't have a set time for the next update, so don't ask me that question. Other than that, I'll see you peeps later!


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